Rising
by Amberstar of Thunderclan
Summary: The Traveler never visited the Fallen. Centuries after when the Whirlwind should have hit, an expedition looking for a world to farm ether on discovers the perfect planet to save their choking race. But they soon discover that it's already inhabited; and this new people is fighting a desperate war against the Dark. One that, sooner or later, the Eliksni may have to fight as well...
1. Prologue

The machine was traveling. Searching. It needed a new home; the horrible black had taken it's old one, destroyed the people that the machine had grown so attached to. So it had left, before the horrible black could catch it.

Now, it sensed a new people; potential candidates; oh, so much potential in them! But then it did the calculations. Would it be able to prepare these people in time for the terrible, horrible black to attack them? Suddenly, it sensed the black; not far off, just a couple hundred years away. Not enough time for it to arm these people, four-armed and full of potential.

They would fall.

So, the machine moved on, though mournful of the lost opportunity. Perhaps the black would ignore this world, these people, since it was not there. Perhaps the black would continue to chase it.

* * *

Meanwhile, Karik was struggling. He'd worked at an ether farm, but the soil had begun to... well, wither was the only way to describe it, over the last few years. The precious substance didn't flow out of the ground like it used to any more; it didn't add itself to their atmosphere as much any more. And since so little ether was coming, less workers were needed.

Which meant... some had to be let go of.

He stepped into his humble home a short walk away from the farm. Eliksni homes were fairly simple. A place to eat, make food. A screen that they would receive news by. A bed tucked into one corner. A cellar for storing whatever they needed to store. He signed, and closed the door. Karik would likely not be able to hold on to this small home much longer.

He went to his kitchen, but had lost his appetite completely. So, though it was unbecoming of an Eliksni his age, he curled up on his bed, trying to calm his breathing. _I can find new job._ But it was the duty of House Waters to tend the ether farms; even if he could find a house-neutral job, would he posses the skills to keep it?

He took another deep breath in, another deep breath out. The ether in this area was getting thin these days, due to the... unproductivity of the farm. It was unheard of, an ether farm going withered like that. He took another deep breath in, another deep breath out, tracing no shape in particular on the covers with one lower claw.

He wondered if any other farms were experiencing the same problem. He closed his eyes. He would check later. The chances of two farms going withered were one in a million. Surely, this wouldn't become a problem?

He shivered, a sliver of fear slipping down his spine. _We will not run out of ether. That... simply does not happen._

Karik descended into sleep, completely unaware of the entity that had considered stopping at their system, completely unaware that the future had been changed.

Completely unaware of the events that would take place centuries after his death.

* * *

 **Okay, so this sudden thought came to me, and this whole thing is based off of one very simple question; what if the Traveler never visited the Fallen? What if the Darkness completely passed them by in pursuit of the Traveler?**

 **The grimiore states that one of the things the Traveler did for the Eliksni was provide an infinite supply of ether, suggesting that there were ether shortages going on when it arrived, or otherwise, a problem had started. So, here we are. Before you ask... yes, there will be Variks in this; he's one of the main characters actually.**

 **Things are going to be fairly different for humanity, without the Fallen pillaging their homes. For one thing, remember how the Fallen were locking away the Hive that started to invade? In this fic, the Traveler still arrived in 2014, in my head it just wandered around a bit more before coming to our little corner of the universe.**

 **Don't expect frequent updates. I spend a lot of time playing Destiny and doing homework. Plus, because of my Twelve Days of RoI fic, people actually became interested in my obscure crossover of Star Trek/Harry Potter(we call it Pottertrek for short), so I'm naturally obligated to update that a little more frequently as well.**

 **Well, here's to hoping you'll enjoy this!**

 **Read and REVIEW!**


	2. An Order To Leave

Variks couldn't believe it. He stared at the notice in his right lower hand. _Impossible!_

He was both excited and terrified. He just couldn't _believe it_!

He was a member, a _very proud_ member, to add, of House Judgment. The law-keepers of the Eliksni, the justice-bringers. The protectors of the common Eliksni. Now, he was not a warrior, mind you; he was a scribe. A record keeper. A watcher of the law. The warriors were the ones who reinforced that law. He simply wrote them down, and, in writing, passed judgment on those who committed a crime.

He kept track of who was to be docked, and when. He wrote down the full story of their actions, studied what events drove them to committing these actions. In the archives in which he worked, he could trace back a whole history of cases. His hope was to become head scribe one day; he loved the writing, the action that words could commit. He loved keeping records.

And now... he'd been chosen.

Centuries ago, the ether farms had begun to wither on the home world, for reasons, as of yet, unknown. The House of Sky was always trying to find a solution, always looking for the reason things had gone so wrong for their people. Eventually, they had come up with the idea of traveling to the other worlds surrounding their star. And they had succeeded.

Ether was farmed, collected, and sent to the home world from House Waters plantations around the system. But it wasn't enough; after several centuries, the ether crisis was escalating to new heights. Entire communities were suffocating now, slowly but surely. He'd heard an entire city on one of the northern continents was so weak form ether depravation, all they could do was lay limply, gasping, as masked evacuation teams from the House of Blood tried to save as many as they could.

House Sky, had, several years ago, initiated a new plan; build a ship. A super ship; one that could leave the Eliksni home system, travel to _other stars_. _Find a new place_ to farm ether, or a new planet to call home. House Kings had approved the plan, as had most of the other Kells. The super ship had been built. It would leave in three days. Twenty, at minimum, representatives from each House had been chosen, hand picked by their Kells.

And in his lower right hand was an order from Felkis, Kell of Judgment, to travel to the launch site tomorrow morning, to prepare for a journey that only came once in a lifetime. And he was not the one to deliver it. No.

This order was _for_ Variks. _Him_! A lowly scribe with hardly a name to himself at all!

He felt like he might explode, he was so happy. He felt like he might scream, he was so _terrified_! Who _knew_ what worlds they would be visiting?! What if they ran into the Cabal? He'd heard stories of them ripping Eliksni arms off before they killed them, just to be cruel. _I suppose it is a good thing there are more House Blood Eliksni on the ship than the other Houses._

Each House had a role to play in Eliksni society. House Judgment were the law-keepers, House Waters were ether farmers. House Stone were architects, and Houses Winter and Sky were researchers, Winter headquarters being on the southern ice caps, Sky on the northern. Houses Blood and Wolves were military, Blood specializing as general field solders, and Wolves making up a majority of the Eliksni defensive fleet. The House of Kings presided over all, as secretaries, governors. Each Baron had a large swath of land placed in his or her care, and all reported to Avkis, Kell of Kings, and High Kell of the Council, where all the Kells met to discuss major priorities.

Recently, Houses Blood and Wolves had been fighting a race known as the Cabal; large, war-mongering beasts, who liked to terrorize House Water farms and settlements on the edge of the system. So far, they had succeeded in driving the enemy space-farers away... for now. Variks often got the feeling that the Cabal were just playing with their food; the Eliksni were choking, starving, weakening day by day. It wouldn't take much to finish them off, and the Cabal probably knew that.

Which was why it was so important to find a new source of ether. With ether, or even a new home world, if it came to that, they would posses at least an iota of strength to fight the Cabal. Variks took a deep breath, bursting with pride, excitement, terror and nerves. He walked out of the archive, chest puffed out, still staring at the orders in his claws. One of his fellow scribes called after him in exasperating, claiming that he couldn't leave her to do all this file work by herself. He didn't hear her.

He stepped out of the building, and finally looked away from the orders. He turned his gaze upwards, to the light pink sky of the Eliksni home world. _I shall help save you._ He told it, though he knew a planet didn't have ears. It still felt right. _I shall help save my people!_

With that, Variks, scribe of House Judgment, ran home. He would need rest for the days to come. Much rest, much food, much preparing.

For there were new worlds to explore. And by his upper arms, he was going to be ready for them!

* * *

 **Yay! Variks!**

 **Glad to see someone likes this! This takes place around the same time as the game, so this is our Variks right here. The Reef is going to be... very different from what it is in-game, since the Reef wars never happened. Petra might be a farmer for all I freaking know. And Uldren... well, lets just say, the alter-ego he was to posses in the original Destiny plot may be making an appearance in that he isn't the 'total' jerk we've come to know.**

 **In my head... he's actually going to run away.**

 **From and arranged marriage. He is _not_ a happy Awoken.**

 **There is no happy place. (?)**

 **Read and REVIEW!**


	3. For The Stars

He checked himself over in the mirror again. His helmet was polished, the green stripes of House Judgment standing out bold on the white ivory. His tunic was neat, he'd heated the wrinkles out of it the night before. The symbol of House Judgment stared back at him, as if nodding to him, saying _"You can do this, you can do this, you are of House judgment, you can do this."_

He took a deep breath. It was early in the morning, so early, the sky was only a rusty, russet color. The sun had not yet risen. The transport shuttle that would take him to the launch site would be here any moment. There... he would meet his Kell, face to face. Every member of a House met their Kell, in a way, when they were fully initiated. He or she would appear on a screen; in person, if it was a particularly important or special ceremony.

He'd seen his Kell on a screen before, at his own ceremony. Now, felt like a giddy hatchling at the moment; not at all like an Eliksni of five years like he was. He heard a sound outside his door; the sound of shuttle thrusters, followed by a loud beeping. he gave a small jump, with an animalistic hiss of excitement. _It is time!_

Variks ran out the door, snatching a case with a few small belongings up with one lower hand as he did so. A few extra clothes, a couple of data pads, some examples of Eliksni history. The last item was just in case. After all, with exploring new worlds came the possibility of meeting a new race of people. They could be hostile, like the Cabal; but there was always a possibility of a none-hostile encounter.

He burst out the door, not bothering to close it. He might not be coming back, after all, if it came to a planet-wide evacuation. It wasn't as if he had much of value, anyway; once an Eliksni grew up, at age two, their parental bonds faded almost entirely over the course of the years. He had little of both material and personal value in this home, which may not be his home for much longer.

And there was the shuttle, coming to a low hover out on the road. He ran to it, the doors opening. He almost tripped on the stairs, and the House Sky Eliksni driving the vehicle gave him a look as he scrambled on board.

"Sorry." he muttered, turning to the seats lined up before him. There were a few occupants, though there were no other House Judgment Eliksni besides himself on board. _No matter._ He thought, though he was secretly a little disappointed. There was a House Blood Eliksni sharpening a shock blade with an almost bored expression, a member of House Winter, who had probably been on leave when he received his order, who was going over several data pads with almost feverish tenacity, and a somewhat frightened-looking member of House Waters, who sat at the very back.

He chose a seat up front, and scooted up against the window to watch the ground, and his home, get farther and farther away. He was going. This was it. He was going to the stars!

* * *

Variks must have fallen asleep at some point, because it was the jolt of the shuttle landing that woke him up. he let out a small whine as he moved his spectacularly stiff neck from the position he'd been in, head pressed against the window. Looking around, he saw that there were significantly more Eliksni on the shuttle than when he last remembered. And then his eyes gazed out the window... and he saw it.

 _The super ship!_

It was massive, with thrusters on each wing. It's front tapered to a point, and the insignia of House Kings was painted on the side, like a House King's warship. But there was a new addition to the symbol; lined up on either side of it, slightly smaller, were the insignias of all the other Houses, arranged in a crescent, like the Council of Kells meeting room. He felt like he might explode with pride as his gaze located the House Judgment symbol.

The others around him stood up and began to file out of the shuttle. He didn't bother looking to see if any others of his House had boarded while he was asleep; he just wanted to get off the shuttle, to see the ship again, in full view, in all it's glory. He practically jumped off of the stairs and ran around the shuttle, looking up at the ship, taking it in in wonderment. _This is to be our carrier to the star ways!_

He couldn't wait to get on it, to explore every nook and cranny. Oh, he would have so much fun writing about this!

"Eliksni of shuttle twenty of five, report to your Kells in hall thirty six of ten." a voice commanded. He looked behind him, to see those he had ridden with being directed by a member of House Sky standing on a stack of crates near by, wavering his right arms in the direction of a tunnel entrance dug into the landing zone. _The launching preparation quarters must be underground._ He realized.

Variks gathered himself, with one last look at what would be his vessel into space, and flowed his fellow Eliksni down into the red-lit tunnels below.

* * *

 _It would be easy to get lost down here._ He thought as he went further into the dark. His people could see in the dark, but it was still strange to be underground, with these red lights dully illuminating their path. A few House Sky or Winter members pushed past them on occasion, carrying crates or information.

They approached a hallway lined with doors, and a member of House Sky was directing the others to their Kells. He looked Variks over as he approached.

"Kell Felkis is in room five of twelve." he told him. Variks nodded his appreciation, and continued on. he passed several door, and had to stop to allow a House Water Eliksni, the one who had sat in the back of the shuttle, enter one of them. Variks could smell his fear, and came to the conclusion that that particular Eliksni didn't want to be here. But if your Kell gave you an order, you followed it.

 _Five of twelve, five of twelve... ah!_ He stopped outside the door, hesitating, gathering himself. He was about to meet his Kell. The most revered member of Eliksni society. He took a deep breath, and opened the door. There were already many members of his House inside, though he didn't count. At the front of the room was a very large Eliksni in House Judgment colors standing, talking to a Baron.

 _Kell Felkis!_ He suddenly felt like he was frozen to the spot, all heads turning to him. Felkis was actually... well he was actually quite shocking. He was larger than the Baron, but smaller than he was supposed to be. Variks was pretty sure he'd been bigger than that. _He must be giving up his ether supplements._ The scribe realized. With ether becoming short on hand, he'd heard tell that the Kells were neglecting the extra amounts of ether that gave them their size, and that even some of the Barons were doing the same thing.

Swallowing hard, trying to ignore the stares, Variks closed the door and enter completely.

"I believe that is the last, my Kell." the Baron addressed Felkis. The large Eliksni nodded.

"Very well." His massive head turned to face the lesser members he had gathered, and all eyes left Variks to focus on their Kell, much to the scribe's relief. "You all know why you have been gathered here. I need not stress how important this journey may be. You are here to represent our House, House Judgment, on a task that must not be failed."

Variks felt a shiver slip down his spine. For the first time, it occurred to him this was not just a journey; this was a quest. One that, if failed, could mean the slow, painful extinction of the Eliksni species.

"Your duty is as it always has been. Keep the peace. Judge the criminal. Record the offense. Make sure our ways are not forgotten amongst isolation. Those you are traveling with will be far from Eliksni society; be sure they remember, be sure they keep the law the way they always have. For if we lose our sense of duty, our sense of honor... we will fall." the Kell of Judgment continued. "Do as you always do, Eliksni of Judgment, as you reach for the stars. Keep the law."

* * *

 **Epic inspiring speechifying time!**

 **My assignment of some of the Houses is based off some HoW flavor text where the Ghost is theorizing what roles they may have played long ago. I'm writing Uldren's miserable scenes right now; he's kind of being purposefully pathetic about it all. He hates it all.**

 **I have plenty of chapters in storage for everyone.**

 **And...**

 **THE KELL OF WAFFLES WILL RISE! BOW BEFORE VARIKS, EARTHINLGS; _BOW_!**

 **Ahem.**

 **Read and REVIEW!**


	4. To The Stars

If Variks claimed he wasn't nervous, he would be a liar. He'd settled in nicely to the quarters provided for him on the ship, nearby the other House Judgment members. But he wasn't in his quarters. He was on one of the launching decks, where they were required to gather for take off. He clipped the safety belt to his waist, the other end attached to a long bar running the length of the deck. The other Judgment members were lined up on either side of him, and he found himself looking into the face of the House Waters Eliksni, the one who's fear-scent he had caught the day they arrived.

In less than a minute, they would launch. They would leave the home world behind them. Several House Wolves ships would escort them as far as they could, but then, they would be on their own. The voice of Avkis, Kell of Kings, rang through the ship.

"Remember; do not forget yourselves, Eliksni. Do not let isolation turn you into something else. House Judgment has been given permission to use the full force of their power on those who violate our ways; you _will_ be docked, should you break the law, or resist their efforts to enforce it. Do not fail. Bring back ether. Save our species. This, is your duty. Keep it." he said. The ship shifted; the launch was starting.

 _By mountains, by mountains, by mountains and skies!_ He thought, stomach lurching. He could smell fear-scent rising up around him. The ship had been tested in breaking the atmosphere, but it hadn't had the weight of five Skiffs and three Walker Tanks, plus several hundred Eliksni, on it then. _Oh, mountains! By the sky, this is terrible!_

Variks had never been on a ship capable of leaving the atmosphere before. He'd been told there was nothing else like it, the sensation of breaking the barrier between their planet and the cold vacuum of space. He'd always thought of how thrilling it must be, to do that.

He was beginning to re-think his opinion.

He gripped the bar with all four hands, tightly, as the ship lurched into action. _BY THE SKY!_

He was pretty sure his own fear-scent was noticeable now. He tried to take steady breaths as his insides jerked around inside him. He shut his eyes, reciting the charges punishable by docking in his head repetitively to try to distract himself from just how _terrifying_ this was.

 _... a_ _ssault, murder, purposefully inciting a blood-rage, transport of Class B or A illegal goods..._

He didn't even notice when they gave the all clear to undo the safety straps until the House Waters member poked him with one claw. He gave a start, opening his eyes, and realized their flight had smoothed out, and that Eliksni were unstrapping themselves all around him. He undid the clip with a satisfied growl, and the bars slowly began to retract into the floor after a while as everyone left.

"I have decided that I do not like atmosphere exit flight." he told Kakvis, another member of House Judgment. He, however, was not a scribe; he was a warrior, one of the ones who did the enforcing. There was only one other scribe among them, Nevnik, who, Variks had discovered, was not a pleasant Eliksni _at all_. Kakvis shook himself, his gear clinking as he did so.

"It is not the most pleasant experience, I must agree." he said. "Were it my choice, I would not be here."

"Why not?" Variks questioned. Was there no greater honor?

"Think of it, Variks." the warrior looked at him. "We will be far from our home. We will not have the defense of House Wolf fleet to back us up, should we be attacked. There are many unknowns; too many. We face dangers we know not of."

"But, there could be opportunities as well." Variks pointed out. "A new species; one that might help us fight Cabal! Forge treaty, make alliance! Share technology, history, ways!"

"Perhaps." Kakvis nodded slowly, thoughtfully. "Or perhaps we will encounter enemy _worse_ than Cabal, one that could end whole Eliksni species. Many dangers, Variks. _Too_ many."

The scribe tossed his head in exasperation. "Very negative speech, Kakvis. Very negative. _Too_ negative."

"But you know I could be right. We must have caution, housemate. We are entering the deep black of the vacuum, where none of our kind have ever gone before us." Kakvis told him. Variks decided to disregard his negativity, though the warrior did have somewhat of a point. They didn't know what they would find, where they were going. They just knew what they were looking for; a place with soil rich for ether.

A place that could save the Eliksni.

* * *

Sarkis, Baron of Kings, stood at the head, watching as the stars flew by. Pilots from different Houses, though mainly House Sky, worked all around him. Near his ship, Wolf Ketches flew at the sides for escort. They were approaching the edge of the system; soon the Wolves would be able to go no farther. Eliksni-ship _Kilsvus_ , which meant "Hope of Stars", would be on it's own.

"Target star of system sector three, to six, of ten. Nine satellites, asteroid band, strange energy emissions throughout the system. Not artificial, but not natural either. Do you agree with this choice of star, Baron Sarkis?" The navigator asked, looking up at him. All eyes turned towards him. _Hmm. Strange emissions. Could be a risk, could be dangerous. But... could be a well enough place to start searching._

"Set course for this star." he ordered. Immediately, they went to work. One voice called out for the shields, and metal doors descended over the hard, ether-tempered glass. He felt almost guilty; so much ether was being given to supply this mission. He made a silent vow to bring back tenfold of what had been taken to supply this ship.

"All crew, prepare for star-jump. Time until arrival charted at four days." a House Sky Eliksni shouted into the comms. One by one, all decks reported secured.

 **"Eliksni-ship _Kilsvus_ , this is Wolfship _Conaktak_ ; we wish you well travels."** Sarkis nodded slowly, and waved a hand for one of the House Sky members to turn on the comms.

"This is Eliksni-ship _Kilsvus_ , to Wolfship _Conaktak_. We wish you well fights against Cabal, and ask of you to watch for our return, with plentiful ether." He responded. Three shots registered on the radar. Each Wolfship had fired three shots; a parting-of-ways signal. Sarkis gripped the railing in front of him with all four hands; even he was skittish of this untested technology.

"Star-jump engaging!" the navigator announced.

There was a heavy jerk throughout the ship, and Sarkis was almost knocked off his feet. He steadied himself with the railing as the ship sped up. _By the sky!_ He exclaimed in his head, his insides lurching. This felt _nothing_ like an atmosphere exit!

Gradually, though with many bumps, thumps, and lurching, the ship's journey evened out. He slowly released his tight grip on the rails, recomposing himself. The shields were down, so he could no longer see what was going on outside the ship; that was up to Houses Sky and Winter now. But he was their leader. And he would not fail their people.

 _I swear it by my life blood; we will find ether!_

* * *

 **So, solomn promises and Variks hates space flight!**

 **In my head, the _Kilsvus_ looks kind of like a Ketch, but not. It's bigger than that, and a little more aerodynamic-looking. The united sigil has the Kings' mark in the center, with the rest spread out on either side in an arch shape.**

 **Hope you guys enjoy this! We're entering the Human system next time...**

 **Read and REVIEW!**


	5. Cabal

It had been four days.

Variks doubled over again, throwing up. Kakvis pat him on the back.

"There is no shame in it, Variks." he told his friend. "I myself have been space-sick on occasion."

 _Yes; but are you space-sick_ all the time _!?_ he countered mentally. It didn't help that Nevnik was being a jerk almost constantly, to everyone, no matter how nice they were to him. Variks was beginning to think he'd be rude to Felkis, if he were around.

 **"All crew, prepare to exit star-jump."** came the warning from the comms. Variks groaned animalistically with misery, bracing himself with all four hands, still leaning over the bucket. Soon, there was a sudden lurch, and Kakvis and Variks both yelped as the bucket spilled over the floor slightly. Variks let loose a string of Eliksni swear words.

As their flight gradually evened out, another Eliksni, from House Winter, saw them standing the corner of the hall. He regarded them.

"Problems?" he questioned, looking from the miserable scribe to the warrior to the bucket.

"Space illness." Kakvis explained simply.

"You both realize I am the appointed head healer, yes? There _is_ medicine to lessen the effects." he told them. They shook their heads. "Come to med bay later, after you eat. Should be able to help you."

Both Judgment Eliksni nodded, and the House Winter member strode away to wherever it was he was going. Variks looked up as Kakvis.

"You... _do_ remember where the med bay is, yes?" he asked hopefully. To his disappointment, he shook his head, and Variks groaned.

* * *

"Approaching fourth planet from the star. We have come out on the other side of the asteroid belt; we must land to let the engines cool." the navigator told him. Sarkis nodded.

"Prepared a landing team." he addressed the House Blood Captain standing off to his right. "Twelve Eliksni, at least. Bring one or two members of House Judgment with you."

The Captain nodded. "Yes, my Baron."

Sarkis nodded in satisfaction, turning his head back forwards as the shields were lifted again, revealing the sight of a red planet, most likely covered in sand. Patches of ferocious-looking storms were scattered across it's surface, lightning flickering within the clouds constantly.

"Baron Sarkis, the storms on this planet have an usually high voltage to them. There is... something _alive_ about their energy." he looked at the Eliksni that spoke, a House Sky female.

"Alive?" he questioned. She shook her head.

"There is no other way to describe it. Alive." she told him. He looked at the planet again, wondering. _Could we harness this energy? How dangerous might that be?_

"Avoid these storms while landing. Keep scanning for Cabal signatures. Any danger is possible." he told them. Nodding and acknowledgements all around. They didn't know the full extent of the Cabal; for all they knew, they may have just jumped into their main system.

 _I hope not to encounter them._ A fight with the Cabal could be devestateing. Houses Sky and Winter had focused less on defensive measures and more on distance and travel ability when designing and building the _Kilsvus_. It had a few turrets, and he doubted any ship had better shielding, but they couldn't afford to take any risks. The Eliksni race as a whole depended on it.

* * *

Vekiliks strode out into the heat of the day, adjusting the canister of ether strapped to his belt, feeding into his mask. Behind him were six members of his own House, the House of Blood, two warriors of House Judgment, and five members of House Waters, who were testing the planet for ether farming capabilities.

Members of Houses Sky and Winter were also scrambling around the red sand, checking various instruments on the underside of the _Kilsvus_. One was even strapping himself into a harness, looking a little nervous, about to climb the massive ship with several others to check the top of it.

He took a quick sniff of the air; dry, little moister. The substance mainly making up the atmosphere was a crisp, sweet scent. Very different from the more thick, fresh smell of an ether-filled atmosphere. _There could be potential here._ He thought. Vekiliks swung himself onto the Pike he'd been pushing along. They weren't to go far; just a few dunes over, where scans suggested a ruined structure of some sort. A House Winter representative was coming with them to take note of the place.

He howled the signal to ride, and thirteen pikes took off across the sands, kicking up dust in their wakes.

* * *

Haviks was excited. As a member of House Winter, why wouldn't he be? Possible remnants of another culture? Fantastic! What technology could be hidden there? What secrets might he find? What new medical breakthroughs could it lead to?

He dismounted the Pike with obvious enthusiasm as Captain Vekiliks signaled a halt just outside a half-buried building of sorts. Everyone was curious, even the House Blood warriors. But the Blood warriors set up a perimeter none the less, wire rifles and shock pistols at the ready as the House Waters Eliksni began their tests on the soil, though everyone seemed sorely tempted to take a look within the old building.

Haviks approached it with the House Judgment warriors at either side of him, lower hands resting on the hilts of their shock blades. _What is there to worry about?_ He sniffed the air. He could scent only dust, wind, and the crisp, hot, sweet air of the planet. Then again, his nose wasn't as trained as the warriors' were. He thought back to previos that morning, and gave a small laugh to himself as he remembered the space-sick Eliksni.

He poked his head in. Abandoned, long ago. Dust and sand had invaded old tech and stained the walls of this once-building. he stepped inside, the Judgment members following him. He sniffed the air, trying to pick out old scents, trying to get a feel of who or what might have lived here once upon a time. His gaze found the old technology, and he started forwards, excitement tingling through his being. This was it; tech from another place, another people. There was an old chair of some sort in front of the console, and he pulled it back.

Then, he jumped with a scream. The Judgment members drew their blades.

"No!" he pressed."No, no, just a corpse. Scared me skyless, by the mountains!"

They sheathed their weapons, muttering into their comm pieces to reassure Vekiliks that nothing was wrong. Haviks sniffed the body; long dead, many centuries had passed since this poor creature met it's end. There was a hole in it's rib cage, and a Cabal combat knife lay on the seat below it. A shiver of excitement ran up his spine. _A new species!_

It had only four fangs in it's mouth, and based off it's dental structure, had an omnivorous diet. It had only two arms, and there was no evidence in it's anatomy to suggest it was capable of growing another pair. The skeleton was not complete, but there were five digits on one hand, the other one's bones scattered throughout the area. It was bipedal, it's face was flat, and-

 _Wait._ Cabal combat knife. _Cabal_ combat knife! He let out a squeak of fright. _Cabal killed this creature!_

"We must go! Must warn Sarkis!" he told the Judgment Eliksni. "Cabal murdered this creature! Who is to say it's whole civilization was mauled by them! They could still be here!"

"Vekiliks!" one of them shouted into the comms. "Found long-dead member of possibly intelligent race; was killed by Cabal. Warn Baron Sarkis! Cabal were here, could still be here. They do not give up territory easily."

The other warrior grabbed Haviks by one lower arm, and proceeded to drag him towards the entrance. he tried to free himself, tried to get back to the creature and it's technology.

"Wait! The creature!"

"It is dead; we are not. it is our duty to keep it that way. We must return to the _Kilsvus_ ; Vekiliks orders it so!"

Mournful of the lost knowledge, Haviks relented, and was brought out into the light, where the other Eliksni were mounting their Pikes to evacuate with extreme prejudice. Suddenly, as he rushed to his vehicle, a screech of warning left one of the House Blood warriors, and something crashed down on his pike before he could get to it, sending him flying across the sand.

He hit the ground, ears ringing, darkness pressing at the edges of his vision. He heard one last thing before blacking out completely, and that was the warning call for the Cabal.

* * *

 **Dun dun duuuuuhh! Yeah, I posted early, cuz I was bored. I swear, for Jay and I goth it's like all the loyal guest reviewers have taken a vacation. Among others. Ah, well; at least I still got Variks.*hugs***

 **I really didn't go into all the light-year sciency-wiency technical stuff. We're around the same time as the game, and, if you remember, in vanilla Destiny, the Hive were locked up by the Fallen until your Guardian accidently releases them. Since there are no Fallen... well, lets just say, there's going to be more hive then usual running around Earth in this AU. Worry not, guest reader with the amusing name! I have a few more chapters saved up. I may, however, put this on hold when they're all out, though, so I can focus more on my pottertrek sensation*says this very sarcastically; nobody really reads it* and my Iron Lord one-shots.**

 **Also, special shoutout and thanks to Order and Chaos, who is helping my on the Destiny Fanon wiki with pages for Jayfeattheris Awesome's Dysfunctional Fireteam AU!**

 **We're heading to the Reef next time, so hold on to you hats; it's going to get wild here soon!**

 **Read and REVIEW!**


	6. A Prince Wronged

_Bang_. _Bang_. _Bang_. _Bang_.

Hitela drew in a deep, calm breath, trying to quell her temper. Lashing out at him would qualify as misconduct, and he was in a terrible mood anyway, so that would make things worse.

 _Bang_. _Bang_. _Bang_. _Bang_.

 _Our 'mighty leader', acting like a child. Really, if things are this bad, you would think the Queen would relent and call it off..._

 _Bang_. _Bang_. _Bang_. _Bang_.

Another breath. She clutched the edges of the console so tight, she thought she might cut herself. He had to stop it at some point; he wouldn't willingly concuss himself... would he? _Maybe to get out of the wedding, he would._

 _Bang_. _B_ _ang_. _Bang_. _Bang_.

"Prince Uldren." Misconduct or no, she couldn't take it anymore! "You're going to concuss yourself! If you are really this unhappy about the arrangement, you do realize you are three years your sister's senior? You have power of age, command structure or no."

The rueful prince slammed his head on the console once more, and tipped his face up to glare at her. "You think I haven't tried that? I have attempted to pull the 'age logic' on her multiple times, Crow Varsa. But noooooo; she insists that I marry this... ugh her name is so terrible my voice refuses to utter it."

"Can you write it down?" Hitela mocked, untensing when his tone said he didn't take her words to offense.

"I can't spell it. On second thought... I can't even remember it! All I know is that she is nothing but a snobby noble from some 'good family'. Aparently as crown heir, it is my duty to continue the line!" He sat up straight, mockingly adapting his sister's 'superior to all' stance and attitude. "It is my duty for the people! For the glory of our line! For the Reef as a whole! For the-YAWN, STAB ME TO DEATH ALLREADY!"

She rolled her eyes with a snicker. One thing she'd heard about the Prince, is that if there was one thing he loved, it was complaining about his intended. The one problem with a highly feministic matriarchal society; the men had little choice if it came to an arranged marriage. A month ago, it had been announced that Uldren was to wed a high-ranking member of one of the more noble families of the Reef.

And he had made it VERY CLEAR that he was NOT HAPPY about it. NOT HAPPY AT ALL.

So unhappy, that the Queen had assigned a shadow guard to make sure he didn't try to go AWOL. The problem with that? Uldren trained the Crows, so he was easily able to outwit anyone his sister set on him. So here Hitela Varsa was, assigned to his personal guard to keep an eye on him. Apparently, his last two guards had both had 'unfortunate accidents', so she was, understandably, very uneasy about this. Prince Uldren was a very... _demanding_ commander. He made it a point to spar with anyone who made it out of Crow training alive; to test everyone. Every. Single. Recruit. Often ten, sometimes twenty recruits a day, got their butts whooped handedly by him.

She could still feel the sore spot his fist had left on her back. You weren't a Crow until you got beat up by Prince Uldren, as the saying went. That being said... it would be terrifyingly easy for him to overpower her and fly off into the sunset. And each passing day increased the risk; the wedding was only a week away!

"You know, I think I remember her name; part of the Krillard family, right?" she asked. The prince wasn't known for abandoning a conversation; so long as she kept him talking, her risk of possible injury was low.

"Oh, yes; the wonderful, all-powerful Krillards." he sneered sarcastically.

"Well, I think they've only got the one daughter; I think her name's Shnewka." Hitela told him, earning a snort of laughter.

"Yes, I'm sure her parents weren't drunk when they named her." Uldren snickered. "Honestly; how could Mara do this to me! Fifteen years, I've served her loyally, and what do I get? A forced marriage, with a woman... named _Shnewka_."

He seemed _really_ depressed about his. The grumbling and bitter prince indeed, felt very much wronged by this arrangement. _Best to complete our patrol and be done with it. Defore he decides to knock me out and take the ship..._

To a normal person, this would seem paranoid and strange as a thought. But normal people weren't Crows taught to see deception everywhere, and normal people didn't know Prince Uldren. He was a desperate man; and desperate men did... things. Suddenly, the alarm blared on the console, and both Crows sat erect. She checked the coordinates.

"It's a warship-sized object, with a Martian trajectory. Energy signature unknown... By Saturn, look at it's velocity! FTL travel; it could be Cabal, some sort of new tech they're trying with their ships." she said, checking the radars and sensors as he did something similar.

"They've dropped out of FTL, maintaining course to mars. They're right next to it." The wronged Prince announced. "The energy sig doesn't hint at any relation to the Cabal; it's using some sort of organic power source, leaving a weird- BRACE FOR IMPACT!"

Hitela gripped the console as their ship was knocked towards the asteroids like a giant cat knocking around a small toy. Her head smacked against the interior, and her vision went dark for several seconds. Shaking her head and trying to blink the spots out of her eyes, she reached for the controls, trying to steady the ship, Uldren doing the same beside her.

Together, they barely managed to right the ship in time to avoid crashing into an asteroid along the border of the Reef.

"... wake." Uldren finished breathlessly, hair askew. They looked at each other raggedly, before the prince suddenly adopted a sly look.

"You know... we should probably go check it out." he said. She narrowed his eyes. _And risk you running off? No thank you. I'd like to keep my head on my shoulders._ She rubbed her forehead, nursing a throbbing headache from when she'd hit her head.

"I think we should report it to long-rang patrol before we risk a member of the royal family on a mission involving a mystery ship that nearly blew us up." she reasoned, checking the systems. Nothing seemed to be too terribly damaged. But she'd never known a ship to leave an energy wake such as that one before. Sometimes, larger Cabal ships caused such special disturbances, but never on _that_ scale. Uldren let out a tragic sigh.

"Crow Varsa, I have been shot at thousands of times in my life. I have had a total of twenty-three trips to the ER. I have more scars than I can count. But of all those bullets, not one of them has succeeded, and there's a reason for that." he told her, leaning in to her ear, cupping one hand next to his mouth, and whispering as if telling a secret. "I'm damn hard to kill."

She rolled her eyes.

"Hard to kill or not, the wide patrol should know about it." she shot him down. He sank back into his seat, fuming. She set the coordinates for home, letting her hand rest casually on the hilt of her knife. Prince or not, she would cut him if he tried any funny business.

One didn't NOT take extra precautions when dealing with the Prince of the Reef.

* * *

"You know, you should probably get that forehead thing seen to." Uldren insisted eagerly. "Could be a concussion. Possibly worse."

She heaved a patient sigh. She knew what he was doing; he was trying to get rid of her. She waved a hand at one of the guards at the entrance to the docks.

"Escort Prince know-it-all to debriefing bay." Uldren wrinkled his nose in her direction, and she ignored him. "And alert the wide patrol to a strange ship coming out of FTL in Cabal space."

The guard nodded, and motioned for Uldren to follow, he walked backwards a little to address her before he spun around the corner.

"You know you can't chain me forever, Varsa! Birds aren't meant to be kept in cages like this!" he said. She stood there for a while after he left, head pounding with pain, thinking.

 _I wonder how long it will be before he actually does it? Goes AWOL? Would he actually do that, when he's been so loyal to the Queen for all these years?_ She remembered how bitter he was about being stuck with Shnewka in exchange for that loyalty, and a shudder rolled up her spine. He could actually do it. He felt he'd been wronged by this arrangement, and he was kicking, screaming, and howling the whole way.

And a Prince wronged had no loyalty.

* * *

 **Ooooooo, and here we have poor Uldren forced into an arranged marriage with a snob. :( poor fellow.**

 **The only reason the Kilsvus wasn't shot out of the sky was because the Cabal didn't know Eliksni could even reach this far, and thus did not have their radars attuned to detect them. The fact the Kisvus has FTL capabilities would further confuse them, as the Eliksni have only ever mastered NLS travel before, not FTL, and the Cabal only know themselves to have that kind of tech. In this way, the Kilsvus is very unique; the fist implementation of FTL technology in an Eliksni ship. The Cabal status in this Au is basically the same as in game, though they do have a bit of a farther reach. The Fallen were never really a factor on mars, aside from the wolves at that one, brief point.**

 **Let's just say, leaving mars will be much, much harder than arriving.**

 **Anyway, let me know how ya'll liked seeing Uldren. He won't be playing too big a role in this, but I felt this story needed some sort of sub-plot to go along with it, to keep things more flavorful. And to those of you who haven't noticed yet, Jayfeattheris Awesome just finished the second installment to her Dysfunctional Fireteam series, Heartbusters! If you haven't read it yet, I seriously suggest it!**

 **Anyway,**

 **Read and REVIEW!**


	7. The Broken World

Kivik was, in fact, the most cowardly Eliksni ever to be hatched. He was small, stunted, and absolutely _hated_ the fact his Kell had chosen him. His goals in life were fairly simple; die of old age. Never leave the home world. Avoid getting eaten by Virin Maulers.

Now, there were no Virin Maulers on this strange, alien, desert storm-world. There were, however, Cabal.

He screamed, wrapping all four arms around the railing of the catwalk he was on as another blast shook the _Kilsvus_. He was near the control center, stuck there, because he was too afraid to leave for his assigned battle station. He valued his own life above all others; he was not afraid to admit that he would willingly let another Eliksni die to save his own skin.

"Where is ground team?" Sarkis demanded from where he stood overlooking the control room.

"Just arrived in docking bay! All Winter and Sky Eliksni are accounted for! One House Blood member dead, House Winter medic wounded!" one female called from somewhere beyond Kivik's sight.

"Ramp up! Break the atmosphere! Head for closest planet!" Sarkis ordered. Immediately, the orders were followed, and the warning sirens for emergency take-off sounded. _Oh, sky's and mountains!_ He groaned inwardly, burying his face in his arms as the ship rocked.

He supposed they might have been about halfway up to the atmosphere when it happened. A roaring crash shook the whole ship, and warning alarms screamed in his ears, terror pounding through him.

"Hull breach in the tank bay!" Someone shouted. "Ether shields are holding, three casualties!"

 _Three! Three! that makes four Eliksni total dead in this attack!_ And there was no telling how many more were wounded and could still died! he let out a grievous moan. _We are going to die! All of us!_

"We have broken the atmosphere! The closest planet is third from the star, appears to be water-based, unknown energy signatures surrounding and on it!" the navigator announced.

"Chart course and light-jump! Get us away from Cabal!" Sarkis ordered. There was a heavy jerk, one that sent every Eliksni on board to the floor with an impossible amount of force. Kivik's head slammed onto the floor, and everything went black.

* * *

Sarkis groaned, fighting through the haze left behind by the emergency jump to the new planet. He looked up. The alarms were still blaring. Steam hissed out of several pipe running through the room. A loose wire sparked dangerously close to the navigator, who was getting up, shaking herself with a guttural whine.

"Status!" He barked, hauling himself to his feet.

"Jump... successful, Baron Sarkis." the Navigator declared, as many other Eliksni picked themselves up all around them. "The planet it... oh... oh, by the sky and mountains..."

Sarkis's manibles parted in shock and horror when he, too saw what had taken the navigator's breath away.

The planet and it's moon may have once been beautiful. Perhaps, it had looked like his own home world once. But the satellite body orbiting it had been ripped into, as if some monstrous beast had raked it with cruel claws. Several of the continents looked... withered. Some places had dark veins running all over them from a central blot of darkness. Most of the planet was water.

"Baron Sarkis, our engines are damaged." one Eliksni announced in a subdued voice, still gazing at the devastated planet. "If we do not land soon, will suffer catastrophic failure."

Sarkis looked at the planet and it's moon. Neither one looked friendly. But he hated the look of the moon more than he hated the look of the planet.

"Find place on planet surface. Safe place. Begin and complete repairs swiftly. As swiftly as possible." he ordered.

"Yes, Baron Sarkis."

He looked out at the broken world before him. _What sort of creature could do this to a world?_

"Baron Sarkis?" A voice asked. He looked down at the House Sky Eliksni. "This... broken world. it is the source of the strange readings we picked up back at home system. Two forms of energy, at war with one another. Strange. Moon emits a... cannot describe. Something on dark frequency."

Sarkis folded his lower hands together to rest on the railing, growling as he thought. This was looking bad; worse by the second.

But what choice did he have?

* * *

"Andal, you had better have a good reason for calling me down here." the Exo demanded as he strode into the Vanguard war room. His armor told of an obsession with playing cards, and he wore a dark gray cloak with a black spade in the center. The Hunter he was approaching wore some similar gear, but had a cuirass, unlike the Exo's preference to only wear wire weave. He wore a black cloak, frayed and torn at the end, with red markings down one side. "Tevis and I were just about to take down a Gate Lord! a GATE LORD! Now he's gonna have all the fun!"

"Yeah, yeah; let the Nightstalker have his treat. Listen, Cayde, I need you to go to the moon for me, scout something out." The human said. His hair was a dark black, his eyes a dark blue. Zavala and Ikora were not present. "There are new Seeders popping up in the Cosmodrome, Zavala want's to know where they're coming from."

A frown secured itself on the Exo's blue face plates. "That's not good."

The City had been fighting the Hive for years. Roughly a year ago, many years after the Great Disaster, the Hive had started appearing on Earth again. Since then, they had spread rapidly, infesting the Earth faster than the Guardians could fight them. The Seeders came from the moon, but before the Guardians could figure out where they were being launched from, the Seeders had stopped coming.

Andal nodded in agreement. "Fetch Tevis, get your butts down there, poke your noses where you ain't supposed to go, and then report back to me so Zavala can send in the cavalry."

Cayde gave a lazy half-solute. "You got it, Andal."

* * *

 **And then there were Guardians. Brask is alive, and Cayde is free! Such are the merits of Taniks not being around to ruin everything. I'm really just throwing this chapter out there.**

 **Yeah, my personal theory is that maybe Uldren found Efrideet's secret society of space hippies, and is trying to get them to help him find the Queen. I think the space hippies might be the owners of all those towns the teaser mentioned.**

 **The Eliksni will be encountering the Guardians for the first time here in a few chapters. Get ready folks! The ride is about to get wild!**

 **Read and REVIEW!**


	8. Poisoned Ether

Vekiliks strode onto the ground of the new world. He sniffed the air. He blinked in surprise as he realized the damp, misty atmosphere carried an even stronger variant of the crispy, sweet scent from the red planet. Twenty House Blood Eliksni followed behind him. A small group of House Waters members followed behind them, to test the soil for Ether capabilities.

The fog that hung over the surface had quickly collected again after being partially dispersed by the _Kilsvus_ 's landing. The ground was soft and damp, the atmosphere thick with moister. Everything was ominous and dark, and the scales on the back of his neck itched, like something unpleasant had passed over his very burial place.

 _This planet is dark._ The thought came unbidden, with no real sense to it. But it felt right, felt like the right word to describe this place. Dark. Broken. 'Poisoned ether', as an old Eliksni saying went. The planet might once have been full of life, but now it's white fog seemed to invite the arriving Eliksni with death.

"Poisoned ether may once have nurtured, but now chokes those who breath it." he muttered under his breath. He shook himself, but the sense of unease still lay heavy on his shoulders. He turned to the House Blood members. " Secure area. Make sure _Kilsvus_ is safe. House Waters, do what you must while repairs are made."

He looked sharply at the repair teams as they began to file down the ramp, uneasy growls and clicks coming from the Eliksni as they stepped onto the hostile-looking world. One skittish-looking House Winter Eliksni scampered up to him.

"By our estimates, the proper repairs will take six rotations of this planet. There are three members of my House dead, House Sky members will be assisting us." Vekiliks nodded in response.

"Do as you see fit." he told the smaller Eliksni, who nodded and scampered off again after his housemates. Vekiliks drew in a deep breath of ether, and heaved a sigh, closing his eyes. _Six days on this planet. Sky and mountains, the Cabal found us in minutes; I dread to think what this dark place may harbor..._ he shook himself. "Move out!"

* * *

Variks adjusted the bandages on his upper right arm nervously. Kakvis was sharpening his shock blades, sitting cross-legged on the ground with his back against the wall as his friend tried to figure out just _how_ to word his record of what had happened. Nevnik's report was rather rude, criticizing the actions-sometimes, lack thereof- of the ground team on the red planet, and just how stupid it was of Sarkis to authorize landing on this horrible planet.

Variks was trying to take a much more historical approach. His own recording of their journey was not in the form of formal reports, but more like a daily journal of sorts. While Nevnik had taken a more negative, militaristic approach to the duty he'd been approached with, the other scribe was trying to look at it from the perspective of the millions of Eliksni that would look back on his words hundreds of years from now, reading about what was probably the most important mission in all their species' history!

Which meant he had to choose his words carefully. After all, untold numbers of future generations would be reading this.

"You are doing it again." Kakvis pointed out, not looking up from his blade as he polished the metal until he could see his reflection clearly from it.

"Doing what?" he asked, head tipped. Kakvis looked up, and then did a mocking, heaving sigh, slumping dramatically as he did so. "I do not sigh like that!"

"Yes, you do, Variks."

"I do not!"

"Yes, you do."

"Do not!"

"You do it every time you freak out about how historically important you diary is."

"It is not a 'diary'." Variks growled under his breath. Kakvis rolled his head and moved on to his second blade. Several moments passed in which Variks tried to start writing, and the only sound that could be heard was the _sha-rring_ of Kakvis sharpening his blade, the sound of Eliksni claws tapping letter keys was completely absent. Variks dropped the pad down on the desk with a hopeless sigh and looked at his friend.

"Do you think this world harbors something _worse_ than Cabal?" he asked. Kakvis paused in his work, not looking up. He ran one lower claw against the edge of the blade.

"Perhaps. I have said before; there are many unknowns here. Have heard several Eliksni referencing the 'poisoned ether' metaphor. they are not the only ones to have this saying come into their minds." he said, still not looking up. His claw jerked back as he accidently cut his finger. A dark red-purple droplet ran down the blade, and Variks shivered as a feeling of foreboding slipped down his spine. Suddenly, he knew what to write first. He picked up the pad, and the sound of claws clicking on letter keys replaced the sound of a sharpening shock blade.

 _"'Poisoned ether may once have nurtured, but now chokes those who breath it.' Kakvis, warrior of Judgment, claims to have heard these words passed throughout the ship, and I cannot say that I don't agree truer words could apply to the planet we have landed on, for emergency repairs._ _The repairs are necessary because, after landing on a red planet, fourth from this system's star..."_

He was interrupted by the sound of over-excited Eliksni came from outside his room. he looked up, and Kakvis did the same from where he'd been cleaning his blood off his blade.

"Skys and mountains. Did someone become Kell?" Variks wondered out loud. Kakvis shrugged, and got to his feet, sheathing his blades.

"Let us find out." he stated, walking to open the door. Variks got up from his desk, stretching, before wincing and stopping as the wound on his arm reminded him it was still there. He and Kakvis had been unlucky enough to be in the tank bay that had suffered the hull breach, and a piece of metal had flown right into him. He and Kakvis had been lucky enough to not be one of the three Eliksni that had been sucked out into the vacuum of space before the ether shields had engaged. He shivered involuntarily as he remembered one of the House Winter members being ripped in half by flying metal as he was sucked out.

He and Kakvis came out into the halls of the Kilsvus, to find excited members of their species(the House of Waters seemed particularly happy) running too and fro shouting orders and declaring, joyously, that the planet was ether-capable. Variks and Kakvis looked at each other. Any and every normal Eliksni would have celebrated at the news. But they still remembered the conversation they'd had just moments before, and there was only one thing either of them could think.

 _Poisoned ether._

* * *

 **I have... returned. And the Eliknsi have arrived on earth. How will the City take it? Well, they'll need to send a Warlock, of course... but let's not forget the fact I've hopefully made the heavy hive presence obvious.**

 **Not _teaser_ , but more like some more information. You can probably find it on Destinypedia. Don't be so certain about HoW. Skolas is still around, and he is a wildcard element. Let's just say, not all Eliksni will be in favor of peacefully asking humanity to share territory. And SIVA could still be a major hazard. Who know was some curious, adventurous Eliksni might find? And if SIVA can take control of the Iron Lords... why not our favorite, four-armed little buggers? IF I continue into RoI that is. **

**We're going to meet our main Guardian next chapter! EEEE! I decided to break the usual "go right for the Hunters" thing and write her as a Warlock instead. Jayfeattheris Awesome's fics are Hunter central, and I think it's my duty to give some of the other classes some love fore once.**

 **And OH MY GOSH FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM IS HERE EUgbuyaewvbfuyargyehvrgvcuychsu! I UPDTATDED _SIBLINGS_!**

 **Read and REVIEW!**


	9. Secrets in Mists

Kassidy Harrington, known simply as 'Kas' to those few that knew her, was on what could be the most important mission in the Last City's history.

As she prowled through the wilderness of Old Oregon, she remembered her debriefing with the Vanguard that morning.

 _ **"Harrington, this could be the most important discovery in our history."**_ _Ikora told her through the projection of Kas' Ghost, Alabaster. She sat crouched in a cave in the mountains of Old Oregon, having been on a mission to track Hive movements in the area. She was the closest Guardian to the scene of interest._

 _"What exactly is their situation?" she asked her leader, bright green eyes reflecting the blue light of the projection._

 _ **"They've touched down in a clearing twenty miles north of you, just three days ago. Preliminary scans indicate rocky terrain, with a forest nearby. Be cautious; there have been recent signs of Hive activity in the area. It is imperative you get to these newcomers before the Hive does; we all know how those dark creatures like to work. No doubt they've noticed these newcomers already, biding their time in order to find an optimal way to strike them hardest."**_ _Ikora continued._

 _"So my job is to observe, or to extract?"_

 _ **"Both. Observe them long enough to get as much intel as you can, send you Ghost in to analyze their language, and, if the Hive start to rise, make first contact and engage the Darkness. Our enemies must not claim this new people's technology as their own."**_

 _"And if the newcomers are hostile?"_

 _ **"Try to make peace as best you can. And if they are hostile... leave no survivors. We have enough problems with the Vex, Cabal, and Hive; the last thing we need is a new enemy to show up on our doorstep."**_

 _"Understood, Ikora." Kas nodded, her short, flame-colored hair wavering as she did so, the bangs tied back behind her head. "Harrington out."_

Alabaster made a pinging noise, bringer her back to reality. She stopped, and he materialized in front of her.

"Kas, I'm picking up some strange readings in the air here." he told her.

"How strange?" she said, blinking with surprise. His white nodes shifted.

"It seems to be some sort of carbon-based compound. Like a carbon-oxygen-nitro hybrid form of heavy air. I suggest keeping your helmet on; you wouldn't last long breathing this stuff." he informed her. She tipped her head to the side, thinking. The wind toyed with her dark scarlet robes as she thought, and the pines creaked ominously around her.

"Could this be what these newcomers breath? Are they trying to terraform Earth?" she asked out loud.

"I have no idea, Kas." Alabaster shook back and forth in the mimic of head shaking. "Maybe. That's not to assume they're hostile, though, if they are; they might not know this one's already taken."

"Well, they'll know soon enough if they Hive find them first. Let's go." Alabaster dematerialized into her armor, and Kas continued on her way into the mist of the morning.

* * *

The heavy, purplish, mist-like particulate that enveloped the Reef as a whole was particularly thick here, several days out from Vesta-4. There were a few small settlements here and there this far out, but very few, and most of them were less than backwater slums; they were a breeding ground for piracy and scum, outside of the Queen's rule.

It made sense, then, that the most valuable salvage could be found in this region.

Which was why Petra Venj, Pinar's youngest sister, was so very far away from home, even as the Reef prepared to celebrate the wedding of their Prince. She kicked the circle of cut metal in as the laser finished working it's magic, and the masked Awoken pushed herself into the hole, floating in gracefully before engaging the magnets on her boots, planting herself firmly on the metal floor of the decrepit Human vessel.

She looked around. She'd seen another way in, but had also seen several humanoid figures through the mist, and decided not to take chances. The particles of mist had followed her in through the circular opening, and the circular slab banged against the insides harshly. But such was the wonder of the vacuum of space; it was soundless. Of course, once more particles came in, she would be easier to detect, because matter carried sound, but for now she was safe.

 _Famous last thoughts._ She took out her sidearm. To be perfectly honest she didn't really care about attending the festivities that would come with the Prince's wedding day; in her honest opinion, he looked completely depressed about it on all the footage she'd seen of him. She felt somewhat sorry for him, and wondered if his soon-to-be wife was really all that bad.

She strode down the corridors, checking each corner before turning it. Pity aside, in all honestly, the whole thing was a little bit boring to her, actually. She would much rather be out here, scouting, than back there, listening to gossip and dancing with cute Reef boys. An old Human saying went, 'home is where the heart is'.

Her heart lay out here.

Her eyes caught sight of a shadow in the mist. She lowered herself, and turned off her magnets. She didn't want them to feel the vibrations in the metal as she approached. Pushing off silently, she let herself drift down the hall, and stopped herself near the corner. Shadows on the wall, someone had a light with them. _What are you up to?_ She took a mirror out of one of her pockets, and used it to look around the corner without being seen.

Two Awoken. Male. Both wearing masks. Likely talking through comms. Wait... was one of them wearing noble garb? _Talking with comms, I see? Well, lets see what you two are chatting about, shall we?_

She took out a device from another pocket, and, using the mirror to help her aim, she pointed it around the corner ad the two men, and their conversation flickered to life in her own comm piece, the static clearing after a few seconds.

 **"-e... ure to avoid my daughter. I won't pay you if she gets killed."** One man, the noble-looking one, was growling, crossing his arms.

 **"You'll have to pay me an extra ten percent for every man I lose in this operation, Krillard."** Said the other man, no doubtedly a hitman judging from the context of his speech. It took all of Petra's self-control not to drop the device out of shock and give herself away. _Krillard! That's the last name of Prince Uldren's bride!_ Shaking slightly, she continued listening.

 **"No deal!"**

 **"You want your family on the throne, it'll be _yes_ , deal. Do you have any idea how many lives it will cost me just getting into the palace? Getting onto Vesta-4? Heck, killing the Prince alone's gonna take at least ten men if he's awake and armed by the time we get there-which he most likely will be. And don't even get me started on the Queen! She's got freaking _telekinesis_!"**

Petra had heard enough. Hands shaking, she pulled the device back, and clicked the button on the side, recording the conversation she'd just heard. She put it in the mirror, and closed it before putting the mirror case back in her pocket. Blood pounding in her ears, she kicked off and got out of the ship as fast as she could.

Her hands shook as she opened the hatch to her small, unbearably slow ship, and entered. As soon as fresh oxygen filled the cabin, she jerked her mask off, taking deep, shaky breaks, her whole body shivering. It would take days to get this message back to Vesta, in her small ship. There was nothing but empty asteroid fields and scum towns from here to the Web. Amathyst was too far out of the way for it to make sense to stop there and get a better ship, or send a transmission; by then it would already be too late.

The Prince was getting married in three days... and those three days could be his and the Queen's last.

* * *

 **Dun dun DUUUUUHHH!**

 **Our Guardian is in play, and Petra has entered stage right!**

 **Very dry these, ain't it? The review flow, I mean? You know, this whole fic was kind of a "spur of the moment" sort of thing, and I really wasn't expecting it to get so many follows and favorites. It's really cool that you guys like this fic, and I hope you decide to stick around till the end.**

 **I know I don't write much; I do my chapters short and sweet most of the time, and I'm not a big presence on here like my friend Jayfeatther, but it feels good to be appreciated for what little I do. Hopefully, this chapter will spark some reviews.**

 **Read and REVIEW!**


	10. The Rotten, Living, Dead

Variks and Kakvis followed the House Blood and other Judgment members through the misty morning, along a rocky, muddy ridge a distance from the _Kilsvus_. The House of Waters had been letting ether flow from the ground near the ship for the last few days, and soon all Eliksni near the ship would be able to take off their masks and breat free-aired ether for the first time in a while. The ether that filled the _Kilsvus_ smelled like metal and artificial filters; natural ether was a welcome scent after so long.

A House Winter member, nay, the very one that had offered to help with Variks' space illness, was with them, having collected samples of the original atmosphere from beyond the ether zone in two large canisters. Kakvis and the other warriors, six from House Blood, three others from House Judgment, had been offered to escort the Winter Eliksni, whose name was Haviks, in his research efforts. Variks had just been curious, for the sake of his recordings.

"What _is_ this air made of?" he asked Haviks, who was traveling alongside him, carrying one canister under each lower arm.

"It is almost like ether." the Winter Eliksni informed. "It appears to have one, or two of same properties, but many different elements make it up as well. The average Eliksni would only survive for short time breathing this substance; is too light for our lungs to handle, there is not enough of the main ether element to sustain us."

Variks let out a thoughtful growl, typing it out on his pad. _Fascinating!_

"What of the strange, dark growths scouts keep finding?" he inquired further.

"Some sort of chitinous substance. Have not discerned the useful properties of it yet, nor the crystal-like growths that join it." Haviks answered shortly. Variks nodded, adding it to his record, growling softly to himself as his claws worked.

He stopped short upon slamming into Kakvis' back. With an indignant snarl, he scrambled back, glaring at his friend, before realizing all the other Eliksni had stopped dead as well. The warriors put their snouts to the sky, heads tipped to the side. Kakvis rested his lower hands on the hilts of his blades, and Variks sniffed the air and growls rose in the throats of all the Eliksni.

It smell like something dead was coming.

He screamed and Eliksni scream as dark creatures burst forth from world.

"Something dead is here!" he found himself screaming without thinking, and howls of rage and battle erupted all around him.

* * *

Kas looked down on the colossal ship that had landed on her home planet. It was at least as tall as the Tower, and at least that same size long, maybe even bigger. A series of symbols was placed in an arc on one side, and figures were moving around it like ants on a hill. From what she'd seen through her binoculars, they seemed to be bipedal, with... _four_ arms? And four eyes. A bit spider-like, in her opinion.

There was no sign of hostilities so far. It had been four days since they'd first appeared now, and so far, there were no signs of the Hive reacting to them. _Biding their time, probably. Learning how best to take them out..._

She'd also found the source of the strange 'heavy air', as Alabaster called it, and his theory about them breathing it was looking more and more correct. It was coming from multiple vents in the ground near the ship, the vents being tended to by members of this strange race clad in dark blue and light purple.

That was another thing; the colors. Ones in light blue and gray, and ones in light salmon pink and gray, seemed to work as repaimen or scientists, from what she could see. the dark blue and purple ones tended the vents. Ones clad in varying shades of red, and occasionally a few clad in greens and whites, seemed to work as defense or law enforcement. She'd seen many other colors as well, and had made an endless string of theories regarding these adornments.

"Alright, Alabaster." she called him out, and he materialized in front of her. "it's almost time for you to-"

She was interrupted when he swiveled around suddenly with an alarmed whirr and click.

"What is it?" she asked.

"One of the teams I was monitoring; they just went dark, Kas! I think the Hive have finally made their move!" he exclaimed urgently, turning towards her.

"Where are they?" she demanded, standing, Light warming her hands.

"Half a mile west of here, on a ridge!" he told her. he disappeared into her armor as she ran in that direction, taking Nirwen's Mercy off of her back and feeling her Light boil in preparation for battle.

* * *

To say Variks was terrified would be an understatement as big as the home world's biggest mountain and largest-stretching sky. All Eliksni on the voyage had been trained at least briefly in how to use weapons. He'd just never thought he's have to draw a shock pistol and actually _fire_ it at an enemy before.

But then the rotten, living, dark, dead creatures had descended on them, and he found himself suddenly fighting for his life. He screamed as he raked his lower claws down the face of a hideous, eyeless, withered and pale creature that had claws of equal ferocity, and then brought his pair of upper claws down on it's head, smashing it's skull open with raw, Eliksni strength.

He ran for cover behind a boulder with Haviks, who was still clinging to his canisters filled with the planet's original atmosphere. The House Winter Eliksni pointed his shock pistol at him fearfully as he came behind the boulder, but lowered it when he saw it was a fellow Eliksni joining him, and not one of the creatures that had attacked them.

"What in sky's name are these monsters!" the healer howled over the din of the fighting. Variks could hear Eliksni screeching and howling, Variks could hear the monsters screeching and howling, Variks could hear Eliksni dying, Variks could hear the monsters dying. He suddenly heard Kakvis scream with pain someplace close by, and he looked above the boulder, fear pounding through his veins and heart lurching when he saw one of the largest of the monsters pinning his friend to the ground with one foot, readying to bring it's dark-coated, jagged sword down on the House Judgment warrior. Variks screamed wordlessly as terror engulfed him.

And pure light slammed into the monster from above the ridge, knocking it off of Kakvis as it stumbled to the side in agony. Fire and light seemed to consume it, and it screamed ad it was dissolved into nothing but dust, it's bone-like armor clattering to the ground in it's place. Variks watched, stunned, as more of the pale, smaller, clawed beasts ran in to finish Kakvis off, but a scarlet-robed figure landed in front of the fallen Eliksni, and they struck their hand out, palm slamming into the nearest creature, fire running down their arm and engulfing the monster in flames.

Their very being seemed to radiate fire, and as more monsters converged on them, more monsters were lost to the flames. Several Eliksni were stopped dead in their tracks at the sight. Several continued fighting, defending their shocked-and-awed allies from the remaining beasts. Soon enough, the flames faded away from the figure's body, and they lifted a strange-looking gun, firing at the nearest monsters.

New confidence surging through the remaining Eliksni warriors at the arrival of their mysterious ally, the monsters were beginning to thin out. Variks let out a howl of rage and launched himself a the nearest pale monster, tackling it and stopping it short on it's run towards Kakvis who had recovered and was fighting back-to-back with the strange new figure. _YOU WILL NOT TAKE MY HOUSEMATES!_ His very blood roared as he clawed and kicked at it mercilessly as they rolled along the ground.

He slammed his upper claws into it one more time, and looked up to see another sworded beast looming over Kakvis and the newcomer from a shadow he hadn't known was there. He howled a warning, and Kakvis looked up, before dodging in time to avoid what would have been a crushing blow from the monster's sword.

The newcomer, however was not so lucky. As the sword struck the ground next to them, they only looked in time for the beast to grab hold of their head, and slam them against a rock. Their helmet cracked and sparked as the monster raised it's blade to finish it off.

Kakvis leapt up onto it's back, and sank his shock blades into it's shoulders. It howled in agony, and the House Judgment warrior, holding on with his lower hands, ripped his blades out, and used them to remove the monster's head. it collapsed backwards, landing on the unfortunate Eliksni.

And with that, the battleground went silent. All the monsters were gone. Variks rushed forwards to help Kakvis struggle out from beneath the creature, and then turned his head towards the downed newcomer, who was stirring weakly. He looked at Kakvis. He had a cut on one shoulder, and looked battered and bruised, but not too seriously injured. His concern was drawn to the newcomer again when he realized they were making the most horrid of gasping noises.

With a worried rumble in his throat, he picked his way around the monster's body, and he and Kakvis crouched at it's side. The newcomer's sides were heaving, as if they were struggling to breath, and their helmet was cracked and ripped open, revealing strands of flame-colored fur beneath, and they were trying weakly to remove their helmet. Variks worked his claws beneath the edge of the helmet, and the newcomers hand's went limp as he pulled it off.

Their face was flat and elegant-looking, with a thin, fangless mouth, two now-closed eyes, and an outwards-sticking nose. What could have been flat, odd ears were on either side of their head, and flame-colored fur flowed from it's scalp and onto the ground. It's mouth gawked for air uselessly, and it's struggles were getting noticeably weaker. The pieces connected in Variks' head, and he realized with horror what was happening. _The ether! It's choking on the ether!_

"We must get it out of the ether zone, quickly!" he told Kakvis urgently. The other Eliksni caught on quickly, and, having gathered to see what was wrong, scrambled, some to warn the camp(presumably to tell them to snuff the ether vents), others to scout ahead as Kakvis picked up the creature in his lower arms and ran for the end of the ether zone. Variks followed after him, vaguely away of Haviks and someone else behind him.

They came to the edge of the zone, where the mist was slightly clearer, and several trees could be seen, and kept running a short ways before Kakvis set the creature down. Variks, panting, watch apprehensively from over the warrior's shoulder. The creature was ominously still, head lolling to the side, fur spread across the ground. _Why isn't it breathing?_ He thought panicedly. _We brought it out of the ether zone!_

He let out a grinding sound of despair, sinking down next to Kakvis. _Oh, skys and mountains; what have we just done!?_

Haviks made his way over, setting down his canisters and crouching on the creature's other side, placing one lower hand on it's chest to check for a heartbeat, and tipping his head over it's face to listen for breathing. In an odd move, he tipped it's head fully to the side, and grabbed one of the canisters.

"What are you doing?" Kakvis questioned.

"Her heart is still beating, slowly; could try to... encourage breathing, with concentration of air." the Winter Eliksni explained, knocking the top off the cap, and letting the contents whistle out of it. He placed the rushing source of air next to the creature's mouth, rolling her onto her side. "Kakvis, stroke her back, upwards motions."

It was a technique used to help Eliksni that had drowned. This creature was considerably different, but what choice did they have? _Anything_ to get her to breath again, Variks felt more and more rotten each moment he had to look at the motionless form in front of him.

"How do you know it is female?" Variks asked as Kakvis obeyed, pressing hard with each stroke.

"Chest structure. Also indicates race is mammalian." he explained simply, indicating the raised bumps on the creature's chest. It still wasn't breathing, and Variks felt like his own lungs were going to explode if she didn't start soon.

Suddenly, she let out a strangled cough and gasp. He felt Kakvis intense beside him, and felt like his own body might suddenly become the same consistency of water, as the new creature gasped for life. He let himself fall backwards with all four arm spread on the ground. _Skies and mountains, we just made first contact!_

Surprisingly, this was the least of his thoughts, considering he had, in the last few minutes alone, fought unknown combatants, witnessed the discovery of a new race, nearly became accessory to the death of a member of said race, and run halfway across the territory in a mad dash to save them. _This... will make quite the entry in my recordings... after I sleep until I perish!_

* * *

Meanwhile, Vekiliks was trying to figure out why he'd lost contact with Haviks' escort team. he wouldn't have to wait long to find out, as several House Blood and Judgment Eliksni came screaming down from beyond the camp.

"SNUFF THE ETHER! SNUFF THE ETHER! BY SKIES AND MOUNTAINS, _SNUFF THE ETHER_!" they were screaming. Every Eliksni present froze, before Vekiliks barked at the nearest House Waters members.

"Do not just _stand_ there; do as they say!" he ordered, and the panting, _battleworn_ -looking Eliksni approached. _Oh, what in the dear skies of the home world have we gotten ourselves into_ now _?_

* * *

 **And here we have the First Contact of the Eliksni and the Human race... it wasn't a very organized or pleasant affair, because the Hive decided to show up and force it. Let me know what you thought it and the last chapter!**

 **Still a review drought. Maybe if I threaten to stay gone a month or two it shalt loosen they tongues...**

 **Read and REVIEW!**


	11. A Prince Freed

Uldren made sure to act exceedingly bitter and forlorn that night, the night before his wedding. He went to bed bitter and forlorn, and listened for the guards bitterly and forlornly.

And then, eyes still closed, face still pressed against the pillow... he smiled. He opened his eyes, and pale gold illuminated his face. He slowly, quietly, removed the covers, to reveal he was still dressed in full armor. He carefully set his feet down on the floor, and lifted his mattress to reveal _everything_ he'd been stealing for the past three weeks spread out evenly so as not to create a noticeable lump in his bed. He grinned broadly again, the first _true_ grin in a while. He'd hoped it wouldn't come to this... but his sister had forced his hand.

He would _not_ marry Shnewka.

Quietly, he packed everything. Every trick device in the Crow handbook, every supply he would need to feed himself for a whole freaking _year_ on _mars_ if need be. All of it, he had carefully, quietly, spirited away over the course of three, grueling weeks. All the same time, he kept kicking and screaming all the way up to the alter, hoping Mara would relent and call the whole thing off. She needed heirs? How about she gets married _herself_ , instead of selling him to some overly-feminist _cow_. He was _THROUGH WITH IT_.

Thus, he was escaping tonight. His smile turned devilish as he realized she might be expecting exactly for him to do this. She would have doubled the best of the guards. Problem was... _he_ trained the best of the guards. He'd stolen their patrol routs for this evening.

He took out a laser cutter; a circular device used by Reef scouts to cut holes in the hulls of ships. He place it on the wall, and the arm extended outwards, and ran around in a circle around the device, and he readied two personal oxygen shields. The space outside his room was Vesta-4's hollowed-out inside, and there was no air in the hollow, two-mile pocket he was traveling across. Thus the first shield, for himself. The second shield would be placed on the wall, preventing the contents of his room from getting sucked out the hole. Not for sentimental reasons, but because that amount of noise would alert the guards.

The laser finished, and he took it off, pocketing it. He adjusted the strapped on the backpack he wore. He would soon be a free man. He cast one last look around his room, the room he'd spent pretty much his entire life in. He nodded with satisfaction. This had been a good life while it lasted. Time to start a new one. Besides; there hadn't been a major threat to the throne in years; Mara would be okay without him. And if she wasn't... well, it was her own fault for doing this.

Uldren activated both of the oxygen shields, and pushed the circular slab out of the wall. It slid out with a grinding noise, and he grinned as the inside of Vesta-4 greeted him. _Now for the final touch..._ He could't risk being recognized. His face paint had been washed off, and he'd replaced his usual cloak with a more neutral gray one, worn over the knee-length dark russet robes that his his recognizable armor. He took out his knife, and did something he never thought he'd do.

He cut his hair off.

Now with his hair the same rough length, he took the fistful of black that had once been his, and let it float off into the vast expanse of Vesta. He hoped it landed in some dignitary's ice cream. _Now_ that _would be a sight!_ He chuckled inwardly. With that, Uldren squeezed himself through the new opening. He felt his insides to a giddy flip as he embraced the weightlessness of Vesta. He spotted his destination, far, far away, and kicked off the wall. In space, in zero G, what you put in motion stayed in motion, forever. he didn't have to worry about slowing down and being stuck out in the open space until a patrol ship ran him over.

The initial exhilaration was quickly replaced by boredom. He might not stop, but the trip still took time. He had two miles to kill. He allowed himself a few childish backflips. He tried counting buildings. He was glad a person was too small to notice in the vast open area; that, and the fact there was _a lot_ of debris that ended up out here helped. He settled for listening to a track of human classic rock he'd found on venus once.

He was listening to _Ride Like the Wind_ when he finally made it.

He activated his grav boots, and stuck his legs out. The vibration ran up his legs as he locked onto the 'roof' of the building. He took out the laser cutter again, as well as another oxygen shield. He stuck it on the side of the forming hole as the cutter did it's work.

Uldren dropped down into the building, landing with the circular slab, gun at the ready. He looked from side to side. The mag he was using was filed with stun bullets, but he's rather not use it anyway; a silencer was the one thing he hadn't managed to get his hands on. Upon seeing that nobody had seen him(yet), he holstered his weapon, and pocketed the laser cutter before deactivating his grav boots.

He ran down the halls quickly but silently, checking around corners as he went. He froze as he reached the active floor. This was where the prototype was. This was where his _goal_ was.

All vehicles in the Reef had trackers on them, too keep tabs on patrols. Except this one. It was experimental, the most advance tech the Crows had ever developed. It was space worthy, but the tracker hadn't been installed yet. He'd purposefully delayed that, stating that he wanted to focus on 'longtivity' of a field operation, that how long the users of the ship could stay in the field for was the main focus of the project. Initially, this had been totally true. But then _Shnewka_ came along, and it quickly became 'how long I can stay in one place with this ship before I have to move on'.

Today, he'd had his men load the ship up. Tomorrow, they were scheduled to install the tracker and final mapping components. The day after; a month-long field test around the system. In reality? He would be long gone by then, with the most advanced ship in the Reef in his pocket, and shoulders free of burden.

There was only one guard. He recognized it as Varsa. He'd requested her to be the one on duty at this end of the hangar tonight. She did her job well, but he'd noticed she getting cocky recently; she needed to be reminded she wasn't invincible.

He stalked up along the shadows, reaching to his belt. Midnight powder was like the opposite of smelling salts. It was safer than using chloroform. Swift but silent, he rushed up behind her, gripped her head in a way that covered her mouth, and shoved the bottle under her nose. She struggled, and began to preform a move to free herself, but went limp as the powder came into effect.

He caught her as she slumped, and dragged her to the side, in the shadows, before setting her on the ground. He looked around, and spotted a closet a short way away. He carried her to it, and locked her in the room before using his personal laser to wield the lock. _That should keep her in a good long time!_ And he'd done it just at the right moment, as well. According to the schedule, her last check in was just a few minutes ago. Checks were made every two hours. That gave him nearly two hours before someone noticed something was off.

He looked up at the ship, and grinned.

In the Reef, you used what you could find. And they had hit the jackpot. .They'd melted down the advanced metal, and turned it into this. It looked much like the standard Galiot class ships, but the middle chasis was much larger, and the wings were swept backwards instead of forwards, made in graceful curves. The two side wings were longer than the 'dorsal' wing, and were made up of three panels that could split the one wing into three thin wings, making it the most precise ship ever built. It's plasma thrusters could run hot for hours on end before needing a cool down, and it was capable of going 'dead' for days without turning back on, thanks to the power drive, which could handle life support and heating.

But the feature that had made him squeal like a maniacal schoolchild when it was installed was the stealth drive. Not only did it his the ship, it hid the emissions as well. No plasma trails, no heat sigs, no transmissions. And the obsidian metal, combined with this, prevented even the Techneuns from penetrating the minds of the occupants. It had been designed like this. It had to be, if they wanted any chances of remaining undetected by Hive 'magic'. It was also the feature Uldren most need this ship in particular for; inside this protective hull, Mara couldn't reach him. His mind would be safe from her intrusions if she tried to find out where he was, and he would drop from her senses, as if he were dead. And the longer he hid, the more that assumption would be made; he was dead.

And then the _weapons system_... now _there_ was his true love. He'd overheard several Crows say he hadn't taken his eyes of the main guns once while they were being installed, and that he'd _drooled_ while watching. He couldn't remember drooling, but he could remember staring, staring and thinking _YE! YES! BURN, MY ENEMIES! BURN, ALL OF YOU! **BUUUUURRN**!_

This ship was the embodiment of Awoken engineering and grace, a pinical of Crow ingenuity.

This ship was his baby.

He silently stalked up to the wondrous vehicle, the black elegant form outlined faintly, glinting in the dim lighting. He opened his arms as he approached.

"Honey, I'm home!" he told it. He noticed a bucket of paint nearby, and his grin widened.

Half an hour later, the ship was named, and the prince was hiding in the _SSV Goodbye_. The paint was fast-drying; he need only wait a little before it was safe for him to leave without messing it up. He lowered himself into the pilot seat. _Ohhh,_ yes _!_ He let himself sink back against the soft leather. His back had never loved a seat this much before.

 _One more thing to like about this ship!_ He checked his watch. The paint would be dry by now. He grinned, and took the controls, powering the ship up. He tore out the comms unit was someone started yelling from it. He charged the main gun. After all, there was only one way he was getting out of here.

He fired, and the anti-matter bullet tore open the hangar doors. _BOOM! I LOVE THIS SHIP!_

He engaged the engines, the _Goodbye_ 's power humming gently under his hands. The ship lifted from the platform as guards rushed to try and secure it. Though they couldn't see him, he made a tiny solute at them, before flooring it on the main thrusters. He whooped as he was slammed back in the chair, the _Goodbye_ launching much faster than what he was used to.

The ship took off, and he corkscrewed out of the hanger area before speeding towards Vesta's entrance, weaving through the late night traffic and into the Reef graveyard beyond. He whooped as loud as he could.

"I'm free, you hear me? Free! Whooo!" he spun through space, doing a Crazy Ivan. He just stole the most advanced ship his people ever built; heck, he was going to have fun with it! "I love this ship!"

The Prince of the Reef was a free man at last.

* * *

 **Fly little prince; be free! I was cracking up writing about him mooning over this ship. I give to you all, an update!**

 **The Sparrow Racing! I'ma have an anyuerism(totally NOT how it's spelled, btw), I'm having so much fun! And the strikes! The strikes! THE. STRIKES. Ahhhhhahahhahahahhoooo. Much awesome. So drool.**

 **I've been tossing Mass Effect one-shots out the wazoo lately. No idea why. Just a bunch of fluff/humor stuff. So far, Legion's is the most popular. But worry not; I would NEVER forget about this fic.**

 **Reviews are SO appreciated. So...**

 **Read and REVIEW!**


	12. First Contact

Kas sat cross-legged on the boulder, just outside the atmosphere zone for the stuff that had nearly killed her half an hour ago. She watched the newcomers wearily, and they watched her in just the same way. They might have saved her, they might not want conflict, but they had many weapons with them, and she wasn't about to let her guard down.

"We're lucky they're quick thinkers, whoever they are. This whole area is soaking in Darkness; I might not have been able to revive you." Alabaster commented from her earpiece comm. Her helmet had been busted by that Knight, and she couldn't ever imagine a more scary or terrible moment in her life when she'd tried to take a breath and realized she was choking on the air.

Now, however, thanks to the newcomers, she'd come to, and Alabaster was trying to analyse their language. He was, hover, finding it difficult, due to the fact it was deemed unwise to reveal himself at the moment. Everyone was tense, the newcomers were likely scrambling to secure a perimeter and analyse the Hive threat, and she was an unknown factor in whatever it was they were up to here.

The one peice of good news Alabaster had managed to glean, was that the heavy atmosphere they'd been setting up was no longer growing, but starting to dissipate.

Her head snapped up as one of the newcomers moved closer, and he-she was pretty sure it was a he-jumped back a little. Unlike his other fellows in green, this one wore a sort of tunic, like the one in gray and blue that she'd woken to find tending her. She supposed the gray and blue ones were doctors of some sort, but she couldn't place the role of the green tunic-wearing one. He wasn't a doctor, but the others in green and white were all armored, with plenty of weapons on their person to boot.

This one wore light clothing with only a flimsy-looking pistol to his name. She tipped her head to the side, considering how she might look a little less threatening. She shrugged, holding her hands out, with palms upwards, and offered him a 'what ya gonna do' kind of hopeless gesture. He tipped his head to the side. She blinked, deciding to try something. She reached out with one hand, and he backed away warily. She opened her hand in a nonthreatening way, shrugging with that shoulder and nodding down, trying to encourage him.

"I don't bite, you know." she told him. He hesitated, looking at his fellows, who were all chattering and issuing orders, or otherwise tending to the wounded. Tentatively, he reached out with one lower hand and held it open in the same manner she was. With a light chuckle, she stretched her hand out, taking his, and shook it.

"Nice to meet you." she insisted with a smile as he nearly jerked back. He relaxed after a few moments, and she let go. He regarded his hand, blinking, and then said something in his own clicking, animalistic tongue that she couldn't understand.

"Sorry, still can't understand you." she apologized. A small commotion from the edge of the area caught both their attention. _Oh, by the Traveler! That guy's huge!_

She stood up, unease weighing heavy within her as a very large member of the new race strode into view. The others seemed to regard him as a leader, always bowing their head before speaking to him. He was dressed in varying shades of gold, with a few hints of white and blue, with a large gun slung across his back, and he carried himself win a way that left no doubt; he was in charge.

The one in green must have sensed her unease, because he called out to the larger one, and though she could not understand the language, it sounded like he was warning his leader. The one in gold regarded him in a way that seemed to express thoughtfulness, before looking at her, taking in the sight of the very small being that stood before it now. She sighed. _I'm going to have to start somewhere, right?_

She took a careful step forwards, and a few of the newcomers let their hands rest on their weapons. Slowly, she approached the larger being. One fo the green-dressed warriors from before said something to him, and he tossed his head in acknowledgement, letting one hand rest on the hilt of one of the long blades he had strapped on either side of his waist. _Warning him I'm dangerous, then?_

Like with the green one before, she held out her hand. A few growls rose int he air. Her head snapped around as one voice began talking almost directly in her ear, and saw that it was the one in the green tunic speaking. After he was finished, the large leader exchanged looks with a few of his fellows, before reaching out with one lower hand, and taking her own. She smiled at him, and decided to take a small risk. She let a tiny jet of solar Light flare up inside her. It ran down her arm and into his, and he gave a light jerk backwards, letting go of her and looking at his hand while other reached for their weapons.

He held up one of his other hands, barking at them, and they lowered their weapons. He reached out again, tentatively, and took her hand once more, tipping his head expectantly. _Alright then. Lets try something else._

Once again she let her Light pulse. He gave a small shudder as the touch of a Sunsinger warmed his very bones. First, she let her flames run at a dull glow, soft, warm. She pointed to herself. _I'm nice._

Then she pointed back to the area they'd been attacked at, and at the Hive weapon that one of them was examining. She turned up her heat to an unpleasant burn, glaring at the dark weapon. _They aren't._ He yelped as she burned him, jumping back, and looking from her to the weapon rapidly, speaking. It was risky, but she had to get the message across.

She strode hastily to the weapon, and picked it up, flaring brighter. They all had their weapons raised now. Staring intensely at the large one, she pointed the Hive shredder at her head, and mimed the motion of pulling the trigger. She snuffed her flames to further get the point across. She pointed the weapon at him, and did the same. _They will kill us both._

She threw the weapon to the ground, even as his fellows bristled. He barked at them some more, perhaps yelling at them to put their weapons down. The one in the tunic was the only one not arming himself. Rather, he had come in close, watching over her shoulder with interest. She set herself alight again. She pointed at herself, then at the large leader, and lunged forwards, stomping on the shredder while forcing Light out her foot, causing it's destruction with a small explosion. _But together,_ we _can kill_ them _._

She backed away, letting her flames die out completely, and holding her hands up. The leader rubbed his burnt hand, regarding her thoughtfully. The one in green said something pointedly, and the leader snapped at him, causing him to back off with his head lowered. It was obvious who was at what level of the pecking order here. After a few more moments of watching her, the leader stepped forwards again, and held out his other lower hand. She stepped forwards and shook it. She looked at the hand she'd burned, and reached over, tapping into her Light again.

He tried to pull away, but she held firm(which was somewhat hard to do, his hand was so much bigger than hers), pulsing her Light through to him. She let go, and he jerked back, looking at his hand, and let out a sharp bark of surprise when he found the burn to be completely healed. More growling and chittering echoed between all the newcomers as they discussed this strange ability, and the leader looked at her. She felt a claw tap her shoulder, and she looked around to see the one in green holding a sort of data pad.

He typed something out on it, a series of odd symbols he drew with his claws. He pointed at himself, then at the word. He took one of her hands, and pressed the pad into it. He pointed at her, and then at a blank space on the screen, head tipped with curiosity. _What is your name?_

She smiled at the simplicity of it, the simplicity of drawing one's name with their fingers. With that, the newcomers gained their first written sample of the english language.

 _"Kas"_

* * *

 **And the Humans have met the Eliksni! Officially, with no violence or suffocation involved.**

 **Yeah, I really wanted to see this AU for a long time. When things look like they aren't going to happen, I usually just up and write them myself.**

 **Sorry again for the long wait time, guys! I updated Tales of the Iron Banner again as well to make up for it! This update features that acursed forklift we've all raged about on Haakon's Precipice...**

 **It surprised me Uldren's flight to freedom didn't rile people up more. I was laughing maniacally the whole time writing it, personally.**

 **And without further ado, read and REVIEW!**


	13. Proposals

"Variks, settle down!" Kakvis told his friend with a chuckle. The scribe had been ecstatic ever since the native had woken up. The display with Sarkis had only served to make him even more excited.

"Will not! Kakvis, look, look at this!" he got up on the warrior's side, and he leaned in a little to see the strange symbols now written next to Variks' name. "I believe it is her name! These symbols, an alien language! On _my_ data pad!"

"Be careful, friend. Sarkis did not like you overstepping your boundaries." he warned lightly. There were Eliksni assigned to act as negotiators in case of First Contact. Sarkis had not appreciated Variks' attempts to be helpful, even as the scribe pointed out the native was trying to propose alliance. It was a scribe's duty to document what happened, but getting close to the native was not Variks' job; it could get him into trouble interacting with the native.

"Am not. Am simply curious. How similar are they to us? How different? Clearly must see world differently, only have two eyes. Only two hands; how do they cope with that? Look at her, eyes, they are colored. Do all her kind have fur on their head? "he halted suddenly, shutting one set of eyes and narrowing the other two. " Where are all the rest of them? Saw no city light on planet's surface."

"A good point." Kakvis agreed solemnly, nodding. If the navigators and other Eliksni looking out of windows during landing had seen city lights on the surface, they would have sent out a distress signal, and landed nearby. They would not have let House Waters test ether. He got the feeling the there might not be a whole lot of natives.

"Perhaps... those dark, dead creatures from before... do you suppose she is the last of her kind?" Variks looked at the native, clicking softly.

"Doubtful." Kakvis shook his head. "If all of them can fight like that, I do not think they would be snuffed that easily. Her armor, robes, too clean. Must be a secret city, town, somewhere she goes."

The native was sitting with her legs crossed, hands resting on her knees. She looked like she might be meditating, but she kept muttering to herself in her tongue, and her brows kept creasing, facial expression kept changing. _Perhaps she is not right in the head._ In Eliksni society, talking to oneself was sometimes considered a sign of insanity.

Sarkis was still talking with a scribe member of House Shadows. Klisris. One of few females chosen for the journey. Not out of sexism, but convenience. female Eliksni were faster than males, much faster, lither; but their speed was accounted for by the fact their bones were hollower. They couldn't handle work the way males could, and generally played roles as scribes or light workers in society. They were well-known as fantastic pilots, and played these roles with great pride. That being said, they were by no means, easily breakable; just a little more breakable than others.

House Shadows was primarily female. They were spies, intelligence, scouts. A small House, before the Cabal attacks had begun. Now, they had scouts all over the outer areas of the home system, watching, gathering reports for Houses Wolves and Blood. Klisris was the only member of her House aboard the _Kilsvus_... as far as they knew. There could be other members, disguised as other Houses. House Shadows members were known for their ability to gather information, their ability to draw conclusions and talk. that was why she was the assigned mediator for first contact.

And the native's display had certainly warranted attention. Kakvis' cuts still hurt badly, and those dark creatures had nearly killed him and his patrol. If she hadn't shown up... he owed her his life, whoever she was, and she'd earned his respect, rather than his fear, like with others. others who had pointed guns at her during her display with Sarkis.

 _Must agree with Variks; looked like proposal of alliance._ Judging by the fact her planet was in ruins, an alliance was much-needed as well.

"What?" Variks suddenly said. Kakvis blinked one set of eyes, brought out of his thoughts, and turned to see the native had approached Variks.

"Hey! Back, scribe; that is not your place!" Sarkis called. Kakvis couldn't help but think it was a little uncalled for to snap at the scribe for his curiosity; and the native had approached him, not the other way around, this time. Klisris held up one hand, calling for Sarkis to stop.

"Wait; let's see what it does." she told them, eyes locked on the native, who had frozen at their reaction. Klisris nodded at the native, inclining her to continue. The native blinked slowly, and looked back at Variks, before pointing at his data pad.

"You want this?" he asked, holding it up. He shared a glance with Kakvis, and he nodded, encouraging the scribe. Variks held the pad out for her. She lifted her hand, but not to take the pad. She opened it, as if inviting one of the small birds in the area to land on her palm.

With a small flash, a device appeared, hovering over her hand, polyhedral, chassis made up of little nodes that twisted and clicked around a little round body set with a single, glowing blue eye. All Eliksni in the area jumped, and Variks filched back a little before leading his head towards it in curiosity. The native said something to the device, and it hovered away from her hand, and towards Variks.

It floated lightly around in a short orbit around his head, almost as if in greeting, the Eliksni twisting around to try and see it. It flared it's shell, and made a should like the native's language.

"Hello." Variks greeted hesitantly, holding out his lower right hand the same way the native had. It lowered itself over his palm, and both he and Kakvis watched it in fascination as it turned to the data pad, parted it's shell and scanned it in a burst of blue light, making them jump slightly.

"It must be some sort of scanning device. Perhaps and AI, by it's behavior?" Kakvis guessed. Klisris, approaching, nodded.

"It could be." she agreed. The device finished it's scan, and floated back up to hover at the native's shoulder as Klisris nodded to Variks. "What was that greeting gesture of hers?"

"Hold one hand out, take her when offered." he reminded her.

"You mean a handshake?" they all jumped. The device had spoken in perfect Eliksni, and the emotional inflections in it's synthetic voice confirmed it's AI status.

"You speak our tongue?" Variks asked in surprise.

"Now I do. Your journal was very helpful as a linguistic database. Handy you've got a dictionary on there, Kas has something similar on her computer." the little being told him as Klisris gestured for the surrounding Eliksni to lower their weapons. Variks looked down at his pad, as did Kakvis. The symbols the native had written... there were three of them.

"Is Kas her name?" Kakvis asked.

"Yup. And I'm Alabaster, but most call me 'Al' for short." he introduced, tipping his shell a little in a kind of miniature bow. Kakvis put two fists to his chest.

"I am Kakvis, warrior of House Judgment. This is Variks, scribe of Judgment." he said, placing a hand on Variks' shoulder. Klisris stepped forwards, holding out her hand. Kas took it, shaking it as she had done with the others.

"Klisris of House Shadows. As I understand it, this is your planet. We apologize for our terraforming attempt; we did not know anyone was still here." she said. Alabaster turned to Kas, and started speaking in her language, informing her, presumably, of their names. After a while, she nodded and spoke, and Alabaster began to translate it.

"Kassidy Harrington, Guardian of the Last City, Warlock of the Shining Sky Order. I'm pleased to make all your acquaintances, and accept you're apology. The planet you are currently on is called Earth, my home world. You must understand that I must soon call my superiors and inform them of what has happened. More urgently, though, you must evacuate you and your ship from the area. This is Hive territory, and don't think you want to meet them in full force." he said as she spoke.

"Hive? Those things our research escort encountered?" Klisris asked. Alabaster repeated it to Kas, who responded with him translating again.

"Yes. They are an enemy of ours. I'm sorry for proposing alliance in the way that I did, but until now I wasn't certain how you might react to Alabaster. I had to be careful. Might we ask who you are, and what your people are doing on our world?" Kakvis blinked, looking at Klisris. How much could be told? How much _should_ be told? He could sense no ill intentions-why would Kas save them from the Hive just to betray them?- and could smell no traps, but caution couldn't hurt.

"We are Eliksni. We are seeking new source of ether, the substance that we breath, or new world to live on. Our planet is... dying. We landed on the fourth planet from this system's star, and our ship was badly damaged by a race called the Cabal. We were forced to land, make repairs, and if we had seen the lights from your city, we would not have arrived unannounced." the House Shadows scribe informed them. One of Kas' eyebrows raised-her kind were so expressive!- as Alabaster told her of this.

"We're sorry to hear about your planet. My kind are called Humans, and we know what it feels like to lose our home. As I stated, we are part of the Last City; the very last city, the final and only safe heaven on this planet. The Cabal took the planet you were on, Mars, centuries ago, and we have been unable to reclaim it ever since. The Hive have infested Earth for nearly as long. A mechanical race, the Vex, are also a threat on the inner worlds of this system, as well as Mars, though they have yet to grip Earth. I have already proposed an alliance; would you agree to a meeting between our leaders and yours?" _Skies and mountains... they've lost everything!_ Yet they still clung on, a part of his mind countered. He felt the urge to grab Kas' shoulder, to say he was sorry for what had happened to her kind. No species deserved this, only _one_ city.

"Y-yes, of course. Captain Sarkis is our leader. We could meet here, tomorrow? You must guard your city fiercely, do not wish to intrude." Klisris stuttered, clearly surprised at how well this was going, and so fast as well.

"No, like we said, you need to get out of here before the Hive come back. They'll rip you all to shreds. Can your ship fly?"

"By now, yes, but as far as I know, we cannot break orbit."

At that, Alabaster and Kas had a short exchange, before the tiny being floated back to Variks, and scanned his data pad again.

"I've put the coordinates for the meeting place on your latest entry." he told the scribe. "A mountain in Old Russia. Your leader will be allowed Klisris and three armed guards. Our leaders always carry weapons, and the base we're meeting at was built by Iron Lords; designed to take a beating, and designed to hold out for weeks; it's been there for centuries, so be certain to show some respect." _He tells this out of courtesy. Allows us weapons, and tells us what we will be up against if we try to attack. Clever._

"Thank you. Will you be there as well?" Variks asked, now holding the data pad with it's ever-precious new information a little closer. Kas and Alabaster consulted each other.

"Maybe." Alabaster told him. "Depends on whether or not we're needed somewhere else, and how much the Vanguard-our leaders-need us."

"Very well. "Klisris bowed her head. "When shall this meeting take place?"

"Depending on how fast your ship is, and how long it takes Andal Brask to preen his damn hair, tomorrow. We'll send a signal when we're ready for you, sorry in advance if you end up flying in circles around the mountain for hours." Alabaster rolled his eye as he mentioned the 'Andal' character, and Kakvis supposed he was speaking of Andal's head fur. he had to admit, it sounded great to see some mountain up close again.

"There is no problem with that. Our planet has many mountains, it will make our crew very comfortable to see some again." Klisris reassured them. Kas nodded to her.

"Well, we have to go now and get things ready. They'll probably want to do a very extensive debrief. I also gave Variks a signal channel you guys can use if the Hive attack before you can lift off; just send the word, we'll be back with half a dozen Guardians ready for fighting." Kakvis blinked. They were really willing to put their own solder's lives on the line to rescue one strange ship? _I think I might like these Humans!_

"T-thank you! If they come we'll certain ask. I take it an alliance would result in sharing of information about them?" Klisris asked, stunned as well.

"I'm certain that can be arranged." Alabaster told her. "Goodness knows, we need some allies."

A loud boom signaled an inbound ship. Kakvis looked up through the clearing fog to see an arrow-like shape diving for the ground... and not slowing down. He shifted his stance, nervous.

"It's been a pleasure meeting you all. We hope to make your acquaintance further. Farewell." the ship swooped low directly above them, and Alabaster's shell node parted. As her ship swept by, Kas disappeared in a flurry of particles, and Alabaster followed soon after. The ship swooped up, and away.

"Skies and mountains!" Klisris yelled, composure vanishing. She jumped up and down. "I just made first contact!"

* * *

 **LoL, Klisris. The female Eliksni with lighter bones thing was actually made up because I suddenly realized all my PoV's were boys, and that deserved an explanation. Basically, girls hunt, guys move boulders around. That, and I wanted to dive a little deeper into fallen biology; I mean, we don't see females in the game a whole lot either.**

 **And without further ado, read and REVIEW!**


	14. Tales of a Scribe

_Entry 1_

 _I am Variks, scribe of House Judgement. I find myself chosen for a task both amazing, and daunting. I am to travel for the stars. What and who shall we meet? I look forwards to recording it all, writing it all. I keep thinking, this could be something generations of my people read, centuries from now, and it is very... daunting, just like this mission._

 _Why was I chosen? I am not notable, or unique. I am only five years old, I am not high-ranking. I am a lowly scribe from a small district that hasn't had anything more significant that a few burglaries in it's borders within the last few years. The last time a docking-worthy crime happened was twelve years ago! I am excited... but also scared. What will we find? What will happen if we fail?_

* * *

 _Entry 2_

 _We are starting soon. I met Kakvis, warrior of Judgement, earlier. He seems to be a decent Eliksni, not at all like that other scribe we are stuck with. Normally, I would not speak ill of my fellow Eliksni in what could someday be a historical document, but this Eliksni is deserving of ill words, though I shall not name him. I will try my best not to let his ill attitude ruin my enthusiasm for this trip._

 _A thought occurred to me last night, before I slept. First contact._

 _Who, or what, might we find out there? Skies and mountains, I hope we do not fly right into Cabal space! We wouldn't last that long. I have no desire to have my arms ripped off by a Cabal before I die. I would like to die with all my limbs intact._

* * *

 _Entry 3_

 _Writing makes it worse. As we travel through the space between stars, I find myself afflicted with severe space illness. I did not think I was the 'space sick' type! Nothing for two days so far but nausea. This new star system could have been a bit closer for my taste. I hope the next transfer is quicker._

 _Skies and mountains, I feel terrible!_

* * *

 _Entry 4_

 _"Poisoned ether may once have nurtured, but now chokes those who breath it." Kakvis, warrior of Judgment, claims to have heard these words passed throughout the ship, and I cannot say that I do not agree truer words could apply to the planet we have landed on, for emergency repairs._ _The repairs are necessary because, after landing on a red planet, fourth from this system's star, we were attacked by Cabal. Apparently, they control this region of space as well. Our good luck has not lasted us even one planet!_

 _This planet is... dead. Like ours will be if we fail. The air is of lighter make than ether, but according to House Waters, can be converted to ether. I would not trust easily ether made from this planet. Though the air is lighter, it is heavy with... something I cannot place into words. They said they found ruins on the red planet. There may be ruins here, as well. What did this? It does not look like the work of Cabal._

 _I have wondered many times what we will find out here. Now, I wonder what we might not want to find. Now... I believe looking on this world might not be worth it._

 **Variks [trans]Kas**

* * *

 _Entry 5_

 _Skies and mountains, it actually happened! First contact! A species called 'Humans'. Apparently, this is their home world(poor things, what monster would do this to a species' home world?). The one we met is called 'Kas', a female of her kind, and a warrior of extraordinary skill. I saw her fight, with fire she bore from her very fingertips._

 _Oh! They only have two arms, and two eyes! It must be awfully hard for them to see and work. And the creatures we fought(Kakvis was there, too)! They were... skies and mountains, I can't even describe them! I see them every time I blink, they were horrible! One of them nearly got Kakvis, but that's when Kas came in and started fighting. Him and her were battling back to back at some point(she did a good job keeping up with him, despite her two arms). Towards the end of the fight, one of those... things, busted her helmet open, and she started choking on the ether we'd started putting in the air._

 _Sorry to say, I nearly lost my mind then. I thought we'd killed a warrior of another species, perhaps started a war. Haviks, healer of Winter, managed to help her, though. She said those creatures were called the 'Hive' by her people, and we have to move our ship before they attack again. Captain Sarkis will meet with their leaders, only one of whom was named(one 'Andal Brask') at a set of coordinates her little machine put on my last entry(Captain Sarkis removed it, put it into the_ Kilsvus' _navigational interface)._

 _I approached her after the battle. I could not keep my curiosity at bay. She put her hand out, and grabbed one of mine, shaking it up and down. Apparently, it is a greeting among her people. She displayed her powers again in meeting Captain Sarkis, and though it was difficult to ascertain what she was saying, it was clear by her actions, she was proposing alliance. I wrote my name, and pointed at myself. I pointed at her, and then she wrote three symbols, her name. It was... incredible, to say the least, to have interacted with an alien._

 _Sarkis not pleased by this; was the duty of House Shadows to interact in all First Contact scenarios. I do not care. It was worth a few days assigned to cleaning the mess hall._

 _Have to go- House Shadows envoy wishes to speak with me, she says I might be needed at the meeting with the leaders, since I interacted with Kas. I hope we reach a peace; I am fascinated by her kind, I wish to know more about them._

A smile tugged at her lips as she sat in her ship, with her knees brought to her chest, a hot mug of tea sitting on the console. She had stripped down into her civvies during the trip to the City. Alabaster had placed a monitoring bug in Variks' data pad when he scanned it. The best way to find ill intentions was to sift through someone's diary. So far, there was nothing to suggest they were associated with the Darkness or it's ilk. As she read the entry that had only just now popped up, she was beginning to find Variks highly amusing.

The only thought that troubled her was that she'd gotten him into trouble. On the one hand, she supposed they would have their own protocols. But on the other, it wasn't fair to punish Variks for being the one she'd chosen to speak to. Maybe there was something she could say at the meeting, some hint she could drop that might give him some wiggle room?

"Kas, we've arrived." Alabaster told her. She turned off the display. She'd delete the link later. Downing the rest of her tea as her ship docked, she stood and stretched. _By the Light, what a day!_ All she wanted was a warm shower, and a long nap. Unfortunately, she now had to report to Zavala, and explain to Lord Saladin why she'd put his home up for rent as a meeting place.

Rolling her shoulders, she let Alabaster transmat her out. Zavala was already waiting for her at the entrance to the hanger, Ikora silent at his left, Andal a bouncing, fidgeting, bright-eyed ball of compressed energy ready to explode at his right. The Hunter Vanguard was always like that. She supposed it either had something to do with the fact he was Hunter, or because he was Hunter who wasn't allowed to hunt, with all that energy pent up inside of him. She, personally, had always found him unbearable.

She strode forwards to meet them, gathering herself.

"Commander. Is Saladin here yet?" she asked. He nodded.

"Waiting for us in the Hall. Come." he tipped his head, and together the four of them made their way out into the plaza.

"Kas, this is an extraordinary thing that you have managed to instigate. A non-hostile alien race? An alliance... could help us reclaim Earth. This is a historic day." Ikora praised as they walked.

"Don't get your hopes up just yet. They may have ulterior motives. Your Ghost claimed they were trying to terraform?" Zavala asked. Kas nodded.

"They're looking for a new world to produce the substance they breath. Apparently, their home world is dying. They didn't know this one was taken, it seems. They must have come out facing the side of the planet the City wasn't on. Their intentions seem friendly, they even seem just as excited about this as we are." she told them. "I found no ill will in them; my Ghost even bugged one of their systems, it doesn't look like they've got a whiff of Darkness on them."

"Still, we must be cautious in this." Zavala warned. Next to Kas, Andal rolled his eyes.

"Zavala, you could at least _try_ and _act_ positive; like lady space magic said, we might have just bagged extraterrestrial allies." he chirped. Ikora shot him a withering glance.

"We have 'bagged' nothing yet." she told him as they made their way down the entrance to the Guardian's Hall. "We still need to meet with them. There's no telling what might happen at the talks."

They strode the last few paces in silence, and entered the Vanguard War Room to find Lord Saladin pacing in front of the table. Shaxx was leaning against a wall nearby, face hidden by his helmet, as usual. Both of them looked up as the other four entered, and Saladin ceased his pacing.

"Is it true?" the last Iron Lord demanded as they spread out along the length of the table into their usual positions, Kas lingering near Ikora's elbow. Feeling a prickle of guilt, she nodded.

"It is. I apologize for offering up your home as a meeting place; I could think of nowhere else secure enough." she offered. He shook his head.

"No apologies necessary; I would have done the same in your place." His gaze swept across all of them. "They aren't hostile? It's all confirmed?"

"Yes, it is. For now." Zavala reassured him. "The meeting will really decide what happens."

""When do we leave, and who is going?"

"Myself, Andal, Ikora, and you, if you so please. Miss Harrington will also be joining us."

"Good. Was a sample of their language obtained?"

"I got a nice, big libray from Variks' data pad." Alabaster told them.

"Variks?" Ikora asked.

"One of the Eliksni. He was carrying around a log book of some kind. Seemed an excitable fellow." Kas explained.

"How long will it take to make a translator?" Saladin inquired.

"Not long, I'll have Kas and Idhren Vaas work together. Given Idhren's track record, they should have something for us shortly." Ikora told them. "Kas, if you would please meet him in the Southern Warlock Halls? He should be in the tech labs by now, we'll call you when you're needed. Dismissed."

Kas nodded to her respectfully, and left the war room as the four began to speak to one another again.

"Do you think he'll be there? Variks, I mean?" Alabaster seemed to ponder out loud.

"Maybe." She nodded. "Klisris, definitely; she's their negotiator. And Sarkis."

"I hope this goes well. New allies would definitely be a bonus, and I'm looking forwards to getting to know them better." the Ghost stated, whirring.

"Don't forget, their planet is dying. They may not be able to help us, who knows what state their home world is in." she shook her head. "Even if the meeting goes right, they might have to move on. If so, we can expect no help; only sympathy." it was a grim line of thinking, but entirely possible. They couldn't expect too much help from the Eliksni. Maybe the two of them could trade technologies, offer weapons and equipment, aid in setting up communications and techniques. But anything further from that was, quite likely, a no-go. The new species had their own problems that were in need of solving, and if there was any race capable with sympathysing with them, it was Humanity.

 _We know what it's like to loose our home_ _world._ She thought as she boarded the elevator. At the very least, now the Eliksni knew about the Darkness. They could warn their people about what was dwelling next door, though it was implied they had already met the Cabal.

She stepped off the elevator and into the Warlock halls. They were neatly kept, and like with all the halls, the pictures of all the previous Vanguards for their class were hung up along them. Osiris's frame was lined with red, marking him in shame as an exile. Other artifacts were set neatly on tables, the banners of all the orders hung from the ceiling. She stepped out onto a soft, well-kept, dark blue carpet, made to muffle her footsteps for those who might be meditating or doing private studies in one of the many rooms branching off from the halls.

She walked down the hall, nodding to a fellow member of the Shining Sky Order as she passed him. The Exo's eyes flicked up to her briefly before returning attention to his book. She turned several corners until coming to the labs. She opened the doors to find an Awoken already at work. The room and it's contents were all warm, dark colors, so as not to be assaulting to the eyes of those Warlocks who suffered migraines. Computers, tools, and other robotics and varying tech equipment lay around the room, including but not limited to a very sad-looking frame that lay dismantled on a nearby table.

"Idhren Vaas?"

The Awoken was in russet, brown, and intricate gold armor. He looked up at her with burnt sunset eyes, set into a pale, bio-luminescent face with a square jaw and prominent cheek bones. There was a dash of white paint under each eye, and his thick, dark brown hair was messy and stuck out at odd angles all across his head as if he'd just woken up. He was working on a set of small black boxes, wires an circuits scattered everywhere.

"Yes. Who's asking? Are you the one who made contact?" she nodded, and he waved her over. "Good. I was just getting the matrix set up, all I need now is the data your Ghost picked up."

"Alabaster?" she called her companion forwards as she sidled up next to her fellow Warlock. She glanced at his bond. _Order of the Raven, huh?_

She examined his work as her Ghost downloaded the information to the computer the devices were hooked up to. The translators were typically given to Guardians who were revived with language barriers, and they were also used when visiting the Reef. They were small and tough enough that they didn't need replacing often and hopefully Idhren had a translation formula that he could apply to the Eliksni.

"So, what are they like?" he asked as he worked away on the computer, editing the translators.

"Big." she told him dryly. "Some of them, any way. At first glace, they don't look too friendly. I suppose it's the 'four eyes, four arms' thing. Some of them were a bit excitable, others were a little more jumpy around a new face. Their leader is... huge. I can't wait to find out what causes the drastic size differences."

"I can't wait to get a look at their tech, myself." Idhren said, nodding.

"You Ravens do love your technology." she offered him a wry smile. He nodded.

"That, we do." he tapped a few keys, and the computer gave a beep. "These should be ready in about an hour, two hours, tops. Lunch on me? You can tell me more about the Eliksni."

"Sure." she shrugged. "Haven't eaten real food in a while, been out in Old Oregon."

"Ah, sounds nice. Lots of fresh air out there. Impressive forests, too."

* * *

Andal took a deep breath of crisp air, and exhaled, mist flowing from his mouth. He grinned, elation mixed with the smell of the wilds filling him to the point he felt he might burst. Sometimes, when the Traveler's Walk was open, he would lean over the railing and try to smell the forests far below. Sometimes, if he was lucky, the smell of pines and evergreens and fresh mountain winds would carry on the breeze.

He'd been Vanguard for nine unlucky years now. You could only challenge someone to the Dare every three years. The ever-smug Cayde-6, whom he'd challenged a few months ago, had won very narrowly, returning to freedom soon after, while Andal was still stuck at the Tower. Birds weren't meant to be caged forever. One didn't put a hawk in a seven-by-seven cell and never let it out. The animal would die. Hawks flew. Hunters hunted.

He wasn't meant to be kept in a cage. Though he tried to say cheerful, there was a very physical ache in his chest, and his very Light sometimes felt like it might explode if he didn't get out of there soon. Being here, at the Iron Temple, with fresh wind blowing over him and a wild sunset on his face, he felt alive for the first time in years, like some tremendous pressure had finally stopped crushing him. He took his hood down, letting the freezing wind blow over his exposed head, his short dark hair still messy even with the heavy amount of products in it.

"Feeling relaxed, Andal?" Ikora asked, amusement ringing in her tone. Though she jested, she could sense the waves of bliss rolling off of the Hunter where before there had been erratic, pent-up stress and energy. This was good for him.

"You have no idea, Warlock. No. Idea." he told her. _How would you feel if you were kept away from your libraries for nine years?_

"We aren't here to satisfy your cabin fever; we're here to make peace with extraterrestrial life. Focus, Andal." Zavala chided gruffly.

"Allow him his wilderness while he can have it; that cabin fever can turn into panic attacks after a while." Saladin warned his apprentice. "I saw it happen with Lady Deidris once. The Hive had tried to drain her Light, and had weakened her immune system, so she was kept in quarantine for six months while both recovered."

"Ouch. That sucks." Andal commented as a small ship roughly twice the size of most Guardian appeared. _There they are!_ He licked his hand and tried to flatten his hair, but to no avail. His eyes fell on three of the wolves sitting to the side, watching him with yellow eyes. Relenting the battle with his hair, he grinned at them. _Looks like Saladin is actually the crazy wolf lady._

"That's them." Kas confirmed. Zavala watched grimly as the ship approached, and Andal brushed out a few creases in his cloak, only for the wind to fuss it up again. _Why do I even bother!_ He groaned internally.

The ship lowered to the ground at the other end of the courtyard off to the side of Vostok's rusted main buildings, and the ramp lowered. Andal had seen images captured from Kas' Ghost, but seeing the Eliksni in person was a whole different experience. The largest one was nearly twice his size, in gold, blue, and white, with a sword attached to each side of his hip, and a large gun strapped to his back. The second, slightly smaller by about a head, was dressed in varying shades of red and similarly armed. At the largest's other side was a smaller one clad in a tunic in a mixture of black, gray, and white. Two others of the black one's same size also followed, armed with odd-looking rifles, one in green armor, the other in red like the second figure.

The second largest, in red, fell in behind who he guessed was Captain Sarkis, their leader, with the smaller armed guards fanning out on either side of him.

"The one in black is Klisris, the largest is Sarkis. I think the one in green might be Kakvis, I recognize his wounds." he heard Kas whisper to Ikora. The one in green did have bandages on one shoulder. _Looks like the Hive got a few words in._

"Greetings." the one in black spoke, in a growling voice that somehow managed to sound feminine despite it's animistic qualities. She looked at Kas. "Will Alabaster be translating?"

Kas shook her head, to the obvious surprise of the Eliksni. The Ghost appeared over his Guardian's shoulder. "We made some translator devices back at the Tower. We can understand you now, but you're going to have to put them on, too, if you want to understand us."

Kas stepped forwards with a long, black case, opening it. There were several of the black box devices. She took one out, and approached Klisris, raising one hand to communicate she meant no harm, before fitting the device to the collar of the Eliksni's tunic.

"There, can you understand me?" the Warlock asked. Klisris' shocked jerk backwards was more than enough of an answer.

"Y-yes, I can hear you." She took the offered box, and passed a translator to each of the present Eliksni, including the guards.

"If we secure an alliance between our peoples, more of these translators will be handed out on a case by case basis." Zavala told Sarkis as the Captain finished fixing his translator to his armor. He gave a start at the sound of the Commander's voice.

"Yes, that would be... much appreciated." he said, regaining his composure. "I am Baron Sarkis, of House Kings, Captain of Eliksniship _Kilsvus_."

"Vanguard Commander Zavala, Titan of the Pilgrim Guard. This is My Warlock counterpart of the Vanguard, Ikora Rey, and Andal Brask, of the Hunters." Andal gave a tiny bow as he was introduced, offering the Captain a small smirk. "Lord Saladin Forge is the watcher of this mountain, and I believe you have already met Warlock Harrington."

"A pleasure to see you again, Captain." Kas greeted, earning a nod from him.

"As we understand it, you claim your planet is in trouble?" Zavala asked, getting down to business.

"Yes. Ether, the element we breath is a naturally occurring source on our planet. It is caused by the breakdown of certain materials beneath the surface, and come up in vents. There would be geysers, flows, plants, even, that produced enough of it to enrich the atmosphere of our home world, Eiksil." Klisris explained. "We would make farms to produce more of it. Higher-ranking members of our Houses receive direct injection supplements to encourage size growth, as a symbol of their power. However, centuries ago, the ether began to... deteriorate. We went to other worlds in our system, producing more there and sending it to Eiksil, but now it isn't enough. Concentrated cities have begun to suffocate. The Cabal press at our borders, destroying our off-world farms. We devised a plan; find a place to produce more ether, or abandon Eiksil for a terraformed world out of the system."

"I'm sorry about that. "Andal offered his sympathy. It was bad enough to have Cabal nagging you, but to have your people dying like that at the same time was just... horrible. "We all know what's it's like to lose a planet. We also know the Cabal, annoying little... space turtles."

"Space turtles?" Klisris asked, confused.

"Earth creature. Never mind that." he waved her off. "Have you found any suitable worlds? Other than our own, I mean?"

Ikora shook her head, and Zavala shot him a look as Sarkis shifted on his feet.

"Yes, we... apologize for that. We thought it was unoccupied." the Captain shot a glance at Kas.

"No harm done." she told him. "It was an accident."

"Tell us more of this... Hive, we encountered." Sarkis asked, four eyes narrowing.

"Yes. The Hive." Ikora nodded, speaking in the same, eerily calm way she always did. "In our world, there are two forces; energy on a radioactive spectrum separate from others. Like all spectrums, there are two far ends. The Light is what we control, the substance present in all Guardians, the abilities we weaponize. It is part of us, gifted to us by a hyper-advanced dormant AI we call the Traveler. But the other end of the spectrum, is the Darkness. It wis what caused humanities collapse, what crippled the Traveler, and it is the very essence of what the Hive are. They worship it, they eat the Light of Ghosts and Guardians, and it is they who shattered our moon."

"Skies and mountains..." one of the Eliksni muttered, looking up. No doubt, they had seen the scars by now.

"Then, there are the Vex. A synthetic race of time-warpers and reality-benders." She continued. "We do not know their true purpose. They turned the planet Mercury from a garden world into a molten machine, and have been trying to do the same thing to Venus and Mars for decades. The, Cabal, you have already met. They occupy Mars, and have been engaged in a war with the Vex for some time now. The Darkness presses at us all, the Hive have spread their infection across the surface of our world. The Last City is the only place the Traveler is capable of protecting. We are all that remains."

The Eliksni watched and listened, subdued as she spoke. _It must be kind of like looking into a mirror, in a way. They could loose their home world, and we've already lost ours._ Klisris nodded as the Warlock finished.

"Our species' situation is quite similar in many ways... I do not know if we could help you, or if you could help us, but with the Captain's permission..." she looked up at Sarkis. He nodded. "I accept alliance. The circumstances, the dangers, they are too similar not to sympathize, too similar not to try _something_."

Zavala exchanged looks with his other four companions, and then stepped forwards, holding out his hand. Klisris and Sarkis both shook it in Turn as he spoke. "Then on behalf of the City, and Humanity, I accept."

A flash beside his ear. "Andal."

"Not now, Piper." he hissed to his Ghost. "Tell me later, I wanna pet those wolves while I got the chance."

"No. Andal, Tevis just pinged; Cayde's in trouble." His head snapped around to look at his auburn-shelled companion.

"What!? How?" he shouted, paying no heed to the others reacting around him at the outburst. The crazy little Exo had been his protege from day one. The thought of anything happening to the younger Hunter made his gut twist, though he'd always found comfort in knowing the old war dog that was Tevis was looking out for the child-like Bladedancer.

"The Hive sniffed them out, got a hold of him. He's says he should be fine, once he's back in range of the Light, and he..." the Ghost hesitated.

"Piper... what?" he pressed, blood roaring.

"He says they found someone."

* * *

 **Literally no excuses for a near one-month absence. Got distracted by my Mass Effect things.**

 **Still glad to see people are still interested in this. I just want to take a moment to thank all the guys that are Favoriteing and Following; it really does mean a lot.**

 **And I know there are some female Fallen we face in-game; I just needed a way to explain their noticeable lack of presence in this AU. Lighter bone structure was the way they evolved here. I suppose in canon, it would have worked out in the way of the Darkness-infested ether strengthened their bones, or something.**

 **Ahh. I think I saw Jayfeatther working on the DF universe earlier; she's been taking a small break from writing these past few weeks, aside from that adorable, feels-y Padfoot and Sierra oneshot.**

 **Brace yourselves, because Eris is coming.**

 **Read and REVIEW!**


	15. Out Of The Pit

"A moon filled to the brim with a species that likes to kill Guardians. Why don't we ever go anywhere nice?" Cayde grumbled under his breath as he and Tevis peeked over the edge of the ridge.

"Because, we work for Andal. We both know he still hates you for wining the Dare." The grizzled Nightstalker pointed out. At first glance, he was unarmed only save his knives. But anyone who knew Tevis Larsen knew that he'd been in the bowman business for centuries, and his connection to the void was legendary. He was second only to Pahanin Errata, whom Dreagen Yor had murdered. He needed no solid weapon; only the void, so strong his skill and Light were.

When asked why the Iron Lords never brought him into their fold during their time, he would simply say that group work never appealed to him. Considering the only Iron Lords left were Saladin and a supposedly-traumatized Colovance, he'd really dodged a bullet.

"Not my fault the Knight leaned to the left..." the Exo muttered as he took his sniper rifle off his back, looking through the scope to scan the far end. They were overlooking a large, gaping, smelly hole deemed by what few maps existing as the 'Hellmouth'. They'd tried 'big, smelly hole', but that one had just made everybody giggle, even though it was a fairly accurate description... if smell traveled in a vacuum.

"Any sign of movement?" he asked after a while.

"None that I can see. It looks like there's an entrance, though, on the other side of the hole. If we're lucky, nobody will be at the door." Cayde lowered his rifle.

"Luck is fickle. Never trust it." he grunted before vaulting over the rocks and sliding down the gray dust to the bottom of the ravine, expertly landing with a smooth grace on the rocky surface only decades of practice could cultivate. he looked around immediately, scanning for movement. Hands at his sides, seemingly unarmed, a foolish beast that did not know of him would think Tevis easy prey. They would be horribly mistaken.

Cayde stumbled to a less graceful halt beside him as he set off to circle the rim of the chasm. The Exo leaned over slightly to look into the haze below, and he saw a small shudder pass through the younger Guardian's body. The involuntary action was not something caused by nature; Exos didn't get cold, or react to ill ease. The movement was triggered by Cayde's inner neural processes assessing the threat and reacting all at once, causing a spontaneous firing of 'nerves' along his body.

Or this was what most people, believed, anyway. Personally, after working with Cayde and the many Exo before him, Tevis was more convinced it was something left over from the time when the synthetic beings had been Human; residual organic instincts lingering within the metal, coded mind that caused them to react in a more person-like manner to their surroundings. Those Exo who were Guardians were even more personable than others, perhaps because of their Light.

"Why do you think they haven't noticed us?" Cayde asked quietly after seeming to grow uncomfortable in the silence. "Or you, at least. Your Light's stronger than most, surely they would have sniffed you out by now?"

"It doesn't work that way." he replied gruffly, glancing into the pit. Dark shadows and vile things swirled in the air below, hiding all the monsters below, gathering all the secrets below, all of it encased in a green haze of liquid light that wasn't light at all but simply a brighter color of dark. _No good things lurk here._ _All the beauty, all the wonder this moon represented, is gone._

 _There's more than one way to destroy Humanity._

"They can sense more powerful Light, sure. But they can't smell it." with a chuckle, he added, "You, with your burrito breath? _That_ , they can smell."

"Laugh it up old man. You don't exactly smell like a bed of roses." came the reply, some of the tense energy dissipating into light-hearted banter. Tevis was about to shoot something back at him when a dull, echoing roar sounded from far below, causing a strange drop in temperature within himself. He was an old warrior; he didn't shudder, or freeze up for even a fraction of a second like Cayde did, though goose bumps did rise on his skin.

The other Hunter had been in the game only twenty years; still very young, still a lot to learn, though he possessed great skill. But he hadn't yet earned a red stripe. Either that meant that he was highly introverted, or all the comrades he'd traveled with so far had been skilled enough to survive. Knowing Cayde, it was probably the former; Tevis was only along because Andal worried his age was catching up with him. _As if!_

Tevis' body was covered in red stripes. Dark streaks across his armor representing, each of them, a friend who was no more. One on his knee for Varalis, who had been killed by a knight, unable to run because his leg had been shot. One on his abdomen, marked in a way reminiscent of the wound that had killed Fawn-03. Two on one upper arm, for the twins Borran and Barrin, who had died shoulder-to shoulder. One short mark over his heart, where _she_ used to dwell before the Dark had taken her away. And so the list of the lost continued.

Every Hunter wore a stripe eventually. Until that happened... they didn't know the world, how it worked. Not really.

They continued on in silence across the airless dust.

* * *

They stood at the maw. The entrance to the tunnels, so easy to get lost in, the graves to many, living and dead.

"You know, somehow the fact we haven't run into anything yet doesn't make me feel any better." Cayde commented. Tevis nodded silently, not replying. The stairs before them, lined with dark and chitin, seemed to taunt them. Dark wisps rose in the air withing the umbras of the deep, and Tevis stepped forwards, drawing his bow, holding it ready with arrow at the void-make string, ready to fire as he pressed forwards into the dark.

Cayde followed behind, gun drawn in one hand, his knife gripped tightly in the other. By all means, Tevis knew this wasn't his first rodeo with Hive tunnels; he just hadn't gotten used to them yet.

 _Though I suppose one can never truly 'get used' to Hive tunnels._ He thought grimly.

Down and down, further below they went. Through dark, macabre rooms, through tunnels so dark, it stifled their Light to the point where even Cayde felt sick, and Tevis' bow was well-strained to stay in existence. They strove through, deeper and deeper, a strange pressure almost physical in nature growing as the two Hunters made their way through a macabre, black-walled hall. Strange rocks with strange meanings. A strange sort of... whispering screaming in the back of his skull that made his skin crawl. He cast a glance at Cayde, wondering if the Exo could hear it as well.

They came to another set of stairs. Tevis raised his bow, an overwhelming sense of danger overflowing his senses. He had two options; hide, or fight. He could hide, hide well, as a Nightstalker. But Cayde's arc-induced cloaking didn't last long. _That's decided; we fight._

He went up the stairs, Cayde at his back, and stepped over the dusty rise in a narrow tunnel. A harsh, deep, dark light seemed from the wide room within, and his eyes widened, ice entering his bloodstream, when he saw the massive crystal sleeping in the center of the bone-circled room, the skeleton the coiled around cavern like some massive slain serpent.

"By the Light..." he muttered. He saw Cayde give an involuntary shiver.

"Tev..." the Exo's voice seemed to fail him. "We need to go..."

"Not yet. We have a job to do." he told the younger Guardian softly. The beast within the crystal seemed to be asleep, but the mere presence of it seemed to command a hushed voice for the purpose of survival. Cautiously, keeping his bow trained on the crystal, Tevis stepped forwards.

The reaction was instantaneous.

With howls of wanton death and endless hunger ripped through the air, green eyes blinked into existence in the shadows, and eyeless claws began to rush from the cracks and holes in the hollow, ruined ground. Tevis let his arrow loose, and it struck the bearer of a nearby sword.

"Run! Go! There's too many for us!" he yelled as Cayde's gun sounded in his ears. The Exo turned obediently and ran, Tevis firing off a tether shot into the middle of the tunnel before following him. He could hear the rage-filled screeches behind him as he ran, famished and baying for his aged flesh and bright Light. The air in his helmet became cold and stifling as he ran, nowhere near as fast as Cayde, who was not only an Exo, but a Bladedancer as well. A Nightstalker was fast in short bursts, but he was too far past his prime for long chases like this, though his Light helped.

"Come on, old man! Come on!" Cayde shouted from the entrance of the darkest tunnels, shooting at the creatures trying to come up on the Nightstalker from behind. He shoved the Exo forwards as he reached him, the two of them stumbling in the dark as he placed another tether at the floor to try and slow their pursuers down, Light already strained from the constant press of the Darkness.

"Fel, can you signal our ships from here?" he asked breathlessly.

 _"Sorry, Tevis; all this rock and Darkness is blocking me."_ his Ghost apologized. _T_ _hrall spit!_ Literally.

They came out into one of the rooms they'd gone through previously, to find it, too, had swarmed. Tevis fired several shots from his bow, and Cayde fired several shots from his gun, the void reacting to each shot, eating away at the other tethered enemies as if the Exo had damaged them as well himself. But it wasn't enough. they raced up to the door in the adjacent caver, and found it held shut by a strange lock, runes linked to chains glowing maliciously.

"Thrall spit, Thrall spit, Thrall spit, Thrall spit!" Tevis cursed repetitively, yanking at the locks. A strange screech sounded through the air, and he rolled to the side in time to avoid a black of arc energy. Cayde jumped in the opposite direction, loosing his footing and falling off the platform. Several Knights were now on the ground floor with him, and the Exo made a break fro cover behind a boulder, only to be flung into the wall by a sweeping sword.

"Cayde!" he drew his bow, prepared to shoot the dark creature through with an arrow, but claws crashed down on his arm, and he screamed, bow disintegrating. he shoved the arrow, still pinched between his fingers, through the thrall's chest, killing it, but when he drew his void-made weapon again, it was too late. The sword came crashing down on Cayde's side, and the Exo let out a yell of pain.

He ran forwards, rage pumping through his veins, as the sword glowed eerily. _You are NOT eating_ his _Light! Not today!_

Seemingly from out of the shadows, anew figure burst forwards. They landed on the Knight's back, and raised their knife, bringing it down on the monster's skull. it reared backwards, away from Cayde, trying to claw the person off it's back, before crumpling to the ground in a heap. Tevis fired an arrow at the other approaching Knights, tethering them. the mysterious figure was on them in an instant as he reached Cayde's side.

"Thrall spit... Tevis..." the Bladedancer groaned. The wire weave of his armor had been ripped open, and a large gash had been cleaved in his side, exposed hardware and wires sparking and flickering. "Feel like... a sack of wet tissues..."

"Hang in there." He turned his gaze back to the fight behind him, only to find the stranger had gone, as had the Hive... for now. _Definitly wasn't seeing things... but where did they go?_

He pulled the Exo to his feet, and Cayde's Ghost, Sashta flickered into existence.

"His Light's drained; I'm having trouble healing him." _Dammit._ He thought as the small being clicked and whirred worryingly. "We need to get him back to the City, near the Traveler, and more Guardians."

"Gotcha." he grunted, looping one arm around Cayde and half-dragging, half-guiding him to the steps leading to the door. Normally, an Exo would be able to shake a wound like this off for a while, but when swords like that were involved... well, too much contact would drain you completely and forever, and not even an Exo could combat the horrible feelings and exhaustion that came with being drained even just a little. Cayde was an excellent combatant; this had been just a score of absolutely rotten luck, coupled with, perhaps, the smallest amount of bad decision making.

 _Now, we just need to figure out a way to open the door before the guys from earlier catch up with us..._ He could hear them already. He halted in shock at the sight that met him at the top of the platform leading to the door.

The figure standing in front of the runes with a strange black orb in their hands was both terrifying and... sad, in a way. Her hair was dirty, matted, long and black, and she had mutilated herself, her true, Human eyes replaced by three of the green, bright dark of the Hive. Her skin was dirty, pale as ice. A tattered cloak hung from her back, and pouches, makeshift and otherwise, were strapped to her belt, one bag glowing ominously. She was looking at him in an expression that made her look like she was devastated to see him... or maybe she always looked like that, dressed in tattered, torn Hunter armor, from a series that had to be a decade old, at least. But the one factor that blew it all out of proportion?

She wasn't wearing a helmet. She _couldn't_ be alive. He shook his head, trying to clear it. _Maybe I really_ am _getting too old..._

"Tevis... waddya' give me?" Cayde asked, swaying at his side.

The woman turned wordlessly, pressing the orb to the rune. They seemed to stick to one another, and the black, non-existent marble fused into the lock, which discontinued to glow, and fell to the floor, chains going lax. She turned, raising her hands in a gesture of surrender, and beneath his helmet Tevis blinked. She couldn't be real, yet she was. This had to be a trick, a trap, but hope argues that if it was, he was dead, if it wasn't, he could live, and if he stayed because he thought it was, he was dead. He was one-hundred percent dead one way, only fifty percent dead the other.

He decided to act on the part of his gut rooting for the fifty percent chance.

"Let's go." he said, jerking his head in the direction of the exit. Though she couldn't hear him... he swore a look entered her face. A look like hope, like someone who had found water after years of wandering a desert. Cayde muttering incoherently all the way, they went up, out of the dark, up, from below, up, into the glorious Earthlight, up... away from the screams and into the Light at last.

His ship landed as more unholy howls and screeches rose up from the cracks and pits. He didn't dare look back to see the hoards that were flooding from the depths just to get as him and Cayde(and, most likely, their new guest as well). He cast a glance at her as he dragged Cayde aboard to see her staring up at the Earth with obvious wonder and awe, one hand reaching out slightly as if she thought she could touch it. His stomped on the ramp, the vibrations getting her attention. She turned with a start, and he motioned with his head to the inside of the ship.

Together, they stalked inside, and Fel started the engine, closing the ramp, the ship lifting into the air. He set Cayde down in one of the emergency seats, connecting the chest belt and securing the delirious Exo.

"Ow. I'm tell'n you Andal... I can flyyyy..." he insisted with a deranged chuckle. Only Light drain could make an Exo like _this_... "Weeeeeeee..."

A strange, strangled noise from somewhere behind him caught his attention, and Tevis turned to find, to his horror, the woman collapsing on her knees with a gurgle, black liquid spilling from between her lips.

"Hey!" He rushed forwards, catching her as she violently coughed up more of the black substance, Sashta scanning her.

"It's all in her lungs, but it's like they don't know how to work without it!" she exclaimed. "Do you think this stuff is how she survived without air?"

He didn't have to waste time speculating, as the woman gave a short, struggled nod as she gasped for breath unevenly, as if her lungs were failing her. Sashta pulsed, shell opening, and one of the oxygen masks from the emergency kits materialized at his side. Catching on, he took it, turning on the air and pressing the piece over the woman's mouth and nose.

"Easy there." he urged, as she shook and gasped in his arms. "Breath, just breath, take it easy. Deep breaths, in and out."

"Tevis, I've contacted Andal." Fel flew by, whirring and facing him, regarding the woman with his shell furrowed in concern. "We'll be there in a hop, a skip, and a jump."

 _Goodness knows, they both need the Light..._ He thought as he held the shaking, broken Huntress, and Cayde howled out madly.

"FTL!" he cried joyously, throwing both fists weakly into the air. "Whoo-hoo!"

* * *

 **Don't worry, Cayde'll be fine. Unless you guys want more drunk Cayde. In that case, he'll be down for a little longer.**

 **But, more importantly, ERIS! I had a lot of fun writing this scene, and she'll be different from in-game- this is Eris Morn fresh out of the pit we're talking about, after all. She's going to have to come to terms with freedom before launching her campaign against Crota...**

 **I really enjoyed writing Tevis, and who knows; maybe he won't go belly-up in this timeline.**

 **Read and REVIEW!**


	16. The Last, And The City

"Who is she?" Tevis asked, looking at the girl through the one-way mirror. She lay in a bed, fast asleep, clean at last. She'd ripped off a swath of her covers at some point, tying it around her head to cover her eyes, which still shone beneath the fabric anyway. According to her, the lights in the room were too bright, and the bandanna helped.

"Eris Morn. Registered MIA shortly before I became Vanguard." Andal answered softly, handing the file to his old friend. "Confirmed Hunter, particularly skilled with a blade. Last showed up on the roster as part of a five-man fireteam, they all went dark shortly afterwards. No sign of any of them since."

Tevis nodded slowly, reading through the report for himself. The three eyes made it difficult to read her expression, but he knew the face of someone who had lost. He'd worn that look often, the look that came to your face after everything collapsed. _I think I might be able to guess what happened to her fireteam._

"How's Cayde?" he inquired.

"Drunk." the Vanguard answered. "At least, that's how he's acting. If it wasn't his Light on the line, it might even be hilarious. They've got some Sunsingers with him, and they're moving him to a facility directly beneath the Traveler. A little Light therapy, he should be good as new."

"Good. That's good." the Nightstalker nodded to himself. The last thing they needed was a Hunter down. "The Hive are planning something. Did you get the files my Ghost sent you?"

"Yep." the other Hunter gave a small shudder. "Ikora is going to go ballistic. Well, more ballistic than she already is, what with first contact and all. This is... well, we don't know what it is, but it's bad, Tevis."

"Yes, it is." that was all he could say. His experience on that moon was the Darkest he'd ever had. Never before had he been in such a place. And to top it off, the City had made First Contact with a friendly species while he was away. _How things could change so much in the space of a few days..._

Just another example of how the world could pass you by in a blink.

"What about those new guys, heh? What're they like?" he needed to know. He was a cautious person, there might still be a chance they couldn't trust these... Eliksni.

"Big, small, overly-curious, and a tiny bit smelly." Andal snorted. "A bit like us, actually. Their home world is on the brink, the Cabal have been bugging them, and they've barely been out in the stars a week before getting attacked. Their ship is going to park out in the wilds near the east wall, any who want to visit the city will have to go through the Tower to get there."

"Good." _Smart precautions._ "How many will be allowed?"

"Only a few." the Vanguard said. "Zavala's going to give their leader the annotated version of a tour of our wonderful Tower, and a short little foray into the City to meet the Consensus. The ground team contact was made with has been invited. After that, visits will be allowed on a case-by-case basis."

The conversation died after that. The two Hunters simply stood, and watched, as Eris Morn stirred restlessly in her dreams. They didn't speak of the tattered, glowing pouch that she kept close on the nearby table, nor of her three eyes, nor of the cracked, blacked, dead shell of a Ghost that she clung to even in her sleep.

When she woke, questions would be asked. For now... they simply waited.

* * *

Variks was at a loss. He'd had so many questions; he'd spent hours upon hours imagining all the things he would ask her. So many things! But now, as they stood in the elevator with the rest of the Eliksni from the ground team Kas had met, with a translator clipped to his tunic, he had absolutely no idea what to say!

The others seemed to feel likewise. He shuffled his feet again, and Kakvis placed a hand on his shoulder in a silent urge to stop fidgeting. He settled for wringing his lower hands together as he tried to think of what to say, some way to break the silence. He cast an uneasy glance at Kas. He wasn't sure how exactly to read Human expressions very well, but as she stood facing the door, she seemed to be amused by the elevator full of nervous Eliksni. He took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing..._

"Do all your species have fur on their heads?" was _not_ what he meant to say, but it was what came out of his mouth. Her head snapped around to look at him, and he ducked his own nervously, glad that he was wearing a mask so she couldn't see his mandibles flickering with embarrassment. _That was the STUPIDEST question EVER!_

"Most of us do. " she said. "Men sometimes go bald, though."

"Okay." he nodded, and wished he could sink into the shadows. Silence descended once more as the elevator slowly came to a halt with a _ping_ , and the doors opened. Variks' eyes widened in shock. _Skies and mountains..._

They'd seen it from a distance, but this was a whole new perspective. They'd come out on a sort of courtyard on the City's wall, white stone and metal, with a tree growing in the center of it, not too far from the AA gun discretely pointed in the _Kilsvus_ ' general direction. But dominating the view of the City was a massive alabaster orb. For a few moments, all the Eliksni just stood there, staring up in awe of this... great machine that hovered silently over Humanity. It's surface was scarred, broken, as if someone had rather violently tired to destroy it.

"Is that the machine you spoke of?" Kakvis asked, having been to the peace meeting.

"Yes. The Traveler." Kas nodded, leading them into the courtyard. Variks couldn't take his eyes off the orb. "Centuries ago, it arrived in our system, and began terraforming worlds. Our people discovered it, studied it and it's secrets to jump our technology forwards by centuries. Our Golden Age."

"Then the Darkness you are fighting came, didn't it?" Haviks asked. They stopped at the edge of the wall, looking out into the City below, and Variks tor his eyes away from the Traveler to look down at Humanities home. Building were scattered and built on top one another, roads sprawled throughout like veins, small transport ships and tiny hovercraft crowded the air and the roads like insects buzzing around in a nest. Kas placed one hand on the stone of the wall, nodding.

"Yeah. We call that period The Collapse. After that, came the Dark Age, and now we're here, the City Age." she told them. Variks stuck his head out a little, trying to pick up the scents from below that the wind might blow up to him. He thought he could smell Humans, perhaps many birds. Exhaust from varying technologies, and...

 _Food_.

He felt his mouth water. He wasn't even sure if Human food was safe for Eliksni, but even from here, it smelled _gooood_. _Maybe we will be allowed down into the City for a little sometime..._ his stomach agreed with the prospect.

"How did you use your fire? During the battle?" Kakis asked. All heads turned to her. It was the question everybody wanted an answer to. The Humans would probably tell the Eliksni all about it at some later point, in more detail, but after watching Kas fight the Hive... It was a truly extraordinary thing to have witnessed.

"It's my Light." she explained patiently, lifting one hand and sending a small flare of flame from her palm. "Every Guardian has it. When we bond with our Ghosts, a link is formed between our Light and theirs. And we gain abilities we could only dream of before hand. There are many forms we can manipulate Light into, but the most common practical use is fire, electricity, and dark energy. Solar, arc, and void, for shorthand. As a Warlock, I can manipulate these energies, use my Light as a weapon in ways Hunters and Titans can't. As a Sunsinger, I specialize with solar Light."

"Incredible." Haviks clicked softly. Variks pulled his journal out, griping it in his lower hands, but too enraptured to write just yet.

"Hunter and Titans?" a House Blood Eliksni asked. "What are those?"

"Other Guardian classes. Saw some during meeting." Kakvis told him, glancing at Kas for confirmation. The Human nodded.

"Titan's main priority is protecting the City directly." She pointed at a heavily armored Human man at the other end of the courtyard, whom Variks hadn't noticed before hand. He had a gun that the scribe hoped he never wound up on the wrong end of. "They patrol the Wall, and some go out into the wild to fight the Darkness directly. Then there are the Hunters; scouts, map-makers, wanderers. Most tend to keep to themselves, and they tend to make up the main Guardian fighting force outside the City. Us Warlocks go out a lot as well, but not as much. We're keepers, warrior-scholars, the ones who go beyond everything and comprehend it all. We're always looking, always fighting. Always searching for a way to understand and stop the Darkness."

It sounded... amazing. All of it. the Titans the Hunters, Kas' own group. _H_ _ere their species is, at their very end, yet they have the most fantastic abilities, the most astounding way of life._ Perhaps the end of the world didn't break all races, it seemed.

His stomach complained again. He'd eaten on the _Kilsvus_! Kakvis took a breath, as if to ask another question, but Variks, desperate and driven mad by the scent he'd picked up on the wind, beat him to it.

"Where do you get good food here? Good meat?" he blurted, at the same time wanting to curl up and hide forever. The other Eliksni all looked at him in exasperation, but Kas gave a snort of a laugh.

"Well, I might as well introduce you to steak, anyway. Might as well make it now, I guess!" she shrugged with a toothy grin, making him feel relieved she didn't think it a strange question, though his face still felt hot beneath his mask. _Hmm. I'll have to hold my breath whenever I want to take a bite..._

He was willing to sacrifice.

* * *

 **LoL, poor, hungry Variks.**

 **Sorry this is so short, and sorry it's so late; I've been distracted recently, mostly by my Mass Effect fics. I have the next Tales of the Iron Banner chapter about half done, though, and I promise, it's a boat-load of fluff to make up for the near two-month wait. Plus, check out my new profile pick. Mad King Gill from the Wings of Fire series matches my personality perfectly.**

 **And to those of you who are fans of Jayfeatther's fics... I'm sorry. I tried to stop her, I tried to convince her not to... but she was going to update this monday, and decided against it. She saw the Fever anniversary was coming up, and decided to remake her latest chapter to be more sentimental and reminiscent of Fever. I told her she could just do it for the chapter afterwards, I tried, but I failed.**

 **Just so you guys know that I tried. ^^**

 **Please have mercy on her!**

 **Also, I'm kind of bouncing off the walls because the English version of the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess manga releases next week along with Breath of the Wild. More excited for the manga, I'll admit; Twilight Princess is my second LoZ love, the first being Ocarina of Time. Then, less than twenty days afterwards, we have Mass Effect: Andromeda releasing during spring break. And there is a high chance of precipitation for Destiny 2 hype this coming month as well.**

 **All in all... March is probably going to be the most chaotic month in the fandoms this year.**

 **Read and REVIEW!**


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